Inception Advent Calendar 2010
by Djap
Summary: BETAD Hey there everybody, I intend to make my yuletide 'gay' this year, so I decided to challenge myself by writing an Inception Advent Calendar. From today on I will post 24 Inception stories that range from 200 to 10 000 words and every Rating. Enjoy
1. Tattoo

**TATTOO**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: PG13 probably

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: Established Relationship, Humor, Shortstory

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010: 1st December

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you for your patience and your help

**A/N**: Sorry, this one wasn't really avoidable with my love for tattoos and Tom Hardy so easily showing them off…

…

**Tattoo**

**a Djap story**

…

"Eames, how did you convince me again to get this tattoo?"

"Arthur, darling. Do you really want me to answer that with all those people around?"

"What people? We're alone aside from this old friend of yours who's going to violate my skin."

"True."

"Stop smirking, you kinky bastard. Besides, I'm pretty sure your friend is aware that we're doing the naughty, when you are wrapped around me from behind like that."

"Well, what can I say? I'm just making sure you won't run away, sweetheart."

"Which brings us back to question one. By the gods of thievery, how on earth did you convince me to…"

"Oh, you know how, darling. You kept challenging me about my talented tongue and then…"

"Quit it, you pervert. No need to spell it out for everybody to hear."

"Oh my, nobody blushes as nicely as you, darling."

"Shut up and let me go. I changed my mind."

"No way, darling. You promised. We spent three weeks looking for the right motif and I really think that Beretta will look lovely on your biceps."

"But needles creep me out!"

"Says the man who has a PASIV around whenever we need it. Nice try."

"Come on Eames. I'm really not so sure about this anymore..."

"I am and whining doesn't suit you by the way. You said you'll marry me and you know I'm too old-fashioned to seal this deal with just rings, because you can take them off far too easily."

"But a tattoo with a gun and the line 'Property of Mr. Eames' on it? Aren't you overestimating a little here?"

"Am I? I will get your motif as soon as yours is finished."

"Easy for you to say with all the other tattoos you already have."

"Stop being an arse, darling. You know every one of them has a deep meaning for me and yours will be even atop my heart, which is the place I always reserved for somebody special like you."

"It won't even have your first name on it."

"That's because nobody but you and my mother know it, so it wouldn't mean anything. As soon as we're married, you'll belong to me. I won't let you go now that I finally got you for myself."

"You're really serious, aren't you?"

"You don't need to sound so surprised, darling."

"But I am. You will really get this tattoo and you will give up sleeping with other people for me?"

"I've been faithful to you for two years now, so why should I change that after we marry?"

"You really were, weren't you?"

"Still with the surprise there, Arthur. I thought you knew me better. You know what? You are probably right; this is a bad idea. I should have known better than to push you into anyt…"

"No. Stay, please. I want to feel you holding me when I get your tattoo."

"Really?"

"Yeah, as long as you promise to do that thing again."

"That thing with my tongue?"

"No, idiot. That thing where you tell me that you love me."

"I think, that can be arranged, darling."

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 16****th**** November 2010 **


	2. Eames' Shirt

**EAMES' SHIRT**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them

**LANGUAGE**: English

**BETA**: Neenabluegirl – thank you, you did great!

**RATING**: PG13 - for kissing

**GENRE**: Established Relationship, Romance, Humor, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010: 2nd December

…

**Eames' Shirt**

**a Djap story**

…

Arthur took a deep breath and steeled himself to enter the hideout in front of him. Behind the door his coworkers were already awaiting his arrival, but today he'd probably shock them out of their mind with what he intended to do.

This morning, when he woke up to cold sheets and a very broody, disagreeable mood he decided to break his own damn rule once and for all. His partner was fed up with it anyway and constantly complained about sleeping apart and driving to work separately just for professionalism's sake.

The reactions as he entered the room were to be expected, because he wasn't the point man for nothing. Ariadne giggled, Cobb fainted, Yusuf yawned, Saito rolled his eyes and Eames stood, greeted him with a smile and a chaste kiss before handing him the mark's papers as if it were the most normal thing to do in the world. And perhaps it was.

They started with the briefing and halfway through Cobb came back to himself, mumbling:

"I've had the strangest of dreams, guys… there was Arthur…" His gaze fell upon his point man.

"Oh no! Arthur, please tell me you're _not_ wearing one of Eames' shirts!"

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 1st October 2010 **


	3. Juvenile Crush

**JUVENILE CRUSH**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames, one sided Ariadne x Arthur

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: PG

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl, thank you for your patient work with me

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**GENRE**: Romance, Humor, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Juvenile Crush**

**a Djap story**

…

Right from the start Ariadne developed this stupid crush on Arthur and it was quickly driving Eames out of his mind. It should be him touching Arthur freely during office hours; it should be him flirting and batting eyelashes at the other man; it should have been him getting asked for a kiss as disguise in the dream of their mark. Him alone and not her.

Ariadne's flirting was so juvenile and dilettantish it made the walls of Eames' stomach churn.

But Arthur forbade Eames to stake his claim as he so desperately wanted to for the sake of privacy and professionalism at work.

It was Yusuff, who finally pointed out the obvious to the oblivious girl. "I think Mr. Eames will shot you in the head if you don't stop pestering his boyfriend with your advances and it won't be in a dream."

Arthur's annoyance level spiked at being discovered and seeing his lover grin smugly at the impending disaster didn't help matters much. The flushed and embarrassed look on Ariadne's face was still totally worth any punishment from Arthur, who knew exactly that Eames had enlisted Yusuf's help.

Arthur was Eames' and some rules were made to be broken.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 30th September 2010**


	4. Flu

**FLU**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**RATING**: PG13 – for language

**GENRE**: Established Relationship, Romance, Humor, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**LANGUAGE**: English

**BETA**: Neenabluegirl – thank you a lot! ;)

…

**Flu**

**a Djap story**

…

"Get away from me, all of you!" The sneeze that interrupted Arthur from rasping out any more commands was followed by a pretty severe sounding coughing fit.

Cobb was standing next to the sofa and had tried to talk some sense into Arthur to stop working and go home for god's sake. Yusuff was repeatedly offering to mix the point man something for the cold. Ariadne was worst though, as she bothered Arthur with blankets, tea and sweets, while Saito restricted himself to off buying the best hospital of the city.

All of them turned around as Eames entered their hiding place, just to shush them all away with a really stern look. He leaned in to Arthur and touched his head to his to measure the fever.

"You're burning up, darling. I'll take you home."

To everyone's utter surprise Arthur didn't even put up a fight anymore. He obediently let himself be lifted and lead away by a scarily concerned looking Eames.

The rest of the team didn't stop staring after them until they were long gone.

Cobb spoke first "Is it just me or did we all miss when those two started to screw each other's brain out?"

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 1****st****October 2010 **


	5. Strange Team Dynamics

**STRANGE TEAM DYNAMICS**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames, Ariadne x surprise partner

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own them, and I won't make any money by borrowing them. Promise.

**RATING**: probably R for suggestions and language

**GENRE**: First time, Humor, Romance, Established Relationship, long Drabble (supposed to be 2000 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany-Series

**LANGUAGE**: English

**BETA**: Neenabluegirl – your patience with me is amazing. Thank you.

…

**Strange team dynamics**

**A Djap story**

…

Ariadne was in a very bad mood when she reached the kitchen in their hideout. Within a few minutes she'd found every available chocolate, cheesecake, cookies and ice cream and sat down to destroy every ounce of it as fast as possible. Half an hour later the door to the kitchen opened cautiously, revealing only the head of her boss, Dom Cobb.

"May I come in?" He finally asked the young woman, who sat in between all the sweets, still munching away on some chocolate cookies.

She threw him just a warning look before turning to the cheesecake.

Dom sighed and inched his way into the room, quickly closing the door behind him.

"This doesn't look particular healthy." He said looking at all the sweets.

She threw him another look, full of scorn and pouting, before deliberately eating another piece of chocolate.

"You could tell me what brought this on." Dom pointed out and grimaced as a cookie hit him in the face.

"You might want to stop eating. You probably gained four pounds today just because of those sweets and I always thought you were proud of your weight…" his voice trailed of as he finally managed to get her to speak.

"As if anyone would care about that…" Ariadne spat and started in on another piece of cake.

Dom was taken aback. "Of course we do…" he tried to defend his team, but Ariadne's look hushed him.

"I've been working with you for over a year now" Ariadne suddenly said and stared directly at Dom "and although there is only one woman – me - on this team nobody has tried to bed me or anything more for a whole year now."

"Ah." Dom said carefully not sure where this was leading.

But Ariadne was ranting now anyway, so she didn't need extra stimulation to keep going. She must be high on all the sugar or something, Cobb figured.

"Of course I knew having a relationship in this line of work would be difficult" Ariadne said and started frantically looking for another chocolate cookie before adding "but I didn't worry because of all the men on this team."

Cobb nodded trying to keep his face carefully neutral. Suddenly he had an insight where this might be going, but he didn't want to give himself away too early. If he read the signs right, this was Ariadne's big hour and he didn't intend to take it away from her.

"Well, obviously I was totally wrong. Okay, there's Yusuf with his cute little girlfriend. I'd never try to split them up – they are just such a cute couple and I'm not someone to do that anyway."

Ariadne looked frustrated as she stuffed herself with another piece of chocolate. She munched away on it for a few minutes, lost away in her own thoughts, before she looked back at him, looking a little lost.

"And then there's Saito, of course. I needed some time to see it but when Fisher started to work with us, well… anybody would have seen how infatuated he is with that man. There's only him on his mind and vice versa."

Dom nodded again patiently because her assessment of the situation was very accurate.

"So I thought, okay, what about the forger and the point man? They don't seem to fuck anybody else, so why the hell aren't they going to fuck me?"

Dom blushed a little at the overuse of the f-word. Since he was back around his kids he'd seriously turned down the swearing and had to suppress the impulse to chide her for the crude language. It wasn't becoming on her, but he could see why she would be so frustrated, so for once he could forgive it.

"So, why don't they?" Dom asked quietly and when her head whipped around to stare at him, he knew that she knew that he knew. Well, that sounded confusing even in his own head, but he had no time to consider that as he realized, he'd just blown his cover.

"You knew." She finally said looking annoyed and frustrated and very very dangerous. Arthur had taken her to the side a few months ago and taught her how to use a gun properly for her own protection, but right then Dom desperately wished she didn't have that knowledge.

Still, denial was futile right now so he bravely nodded before adding "We all did except for you."

"So why didn't you tell me?" she sounded calm and collected and only a little hurt, but Dom knew that she was anything but calm or collected. H searched for his gun, because one could never know what a person could do when in a proper chocolate- induced rage.

"Because you needed to find out for yourself." He tried, and was quickly interrupted.

"And why do you think that is so?"

"Because it's some kind of initiation rite. If you've learned to read two of the best in the field in their most privet business, than you've finally become a full team member."

"Are you kidding me?" Ariadne stared at him with big unblinking eyes.

"No, I'm not. And I'm very proud that you finally figured it out. Congratulation."

Dom made motions to shake her hand but she just stared at the hand as if it could bite.

"You can't be serious."

"I assure you, I'm very serious." Dom said and hoped she wouldn't get too mad about all this.

"So what? They've been together for how long? Since Inception?"

Dom shook his head, smiling softly.

"They've been together since the first day they met."

"You can't be serious. Arthur kissed me in Fisher's head."

"Yes, he did. Did you think he meant it? Well, other than to tease you, that is?"

Ariadne blushed a little around her nose "No." she finally said truthfully. "But still, they can't have been together for this long. I always thought they couldn't stand even being in the same room for any amount of time."

Dom sighed wistfully. "Yeah, they tend to make things complicate for each other, but that doesn't change anything about their feelings. I thinks it's a classical case of can't live with them but can't live without them either. But they have always been there for each other when they needed a strong shoulder or a friend."

Ariadne looked down at her hands, which still gripped a bar of chocolate, contemplating the truth in Dom's words.

"How did they meet?"

Dom shrugged. "They never actually told me, but I think they go back to the military. From then on their relationship must have been on and off whenever they felt like it."

"So they have been with other partners as well?"

"Yes, on occasion. But it never lasted long. I never saw one of them openly act jealous, but I have a suspicion they really were."

Ariadne nodded. There was probably nothing that could shake her about this relationship anymore.

"Why don't they ever show it? I mean, they never even touch in front of us and mostly they just bicker when they have the time."

"Were they romantic and possessive when you found all this out?"

Dom smiled at the severe blush creeping up on her cheeks.

…

**Flashback**

_Finally she would find out whom exactly Eames was bedding. She had secretly observed the forger for over three weeks now and knew he was at this hotel room for an amorous date. She tiptoed into the room, all the time aware that Eames could shoot her as soon as he became aware of her presence._

_But when she peaked into the bedroom she could barely suppress the gasp of surprise._

_As expected Eames was lying on the bed, stark naked, sweaty and still panting heavily. Another person was lying next to him, who was surprisingly male as well. Until then she'd still believed he'd meet up with some nice lady, but now that she thought more closely about it, she wasn't shocked. Eames was known to flirt with both gender, she just hadn't expected it right now. The real shock was to whom this very male and skinny but still muscular body did belong. She looked at the trail of clothes that led to the bed and realized she knew both sets of clothes, because she saw them on a regular base._

_At work._

_Eames hand was still lazily drawing circles on the sticky, sweaty abdomen of none other than Arthur himself, as he suddenly spoke up:_

"_It's very rude to spy after your fellow team members, Ariadne, my dear."_

_Ariadne swallowed hard, panicking. There was just no way how they had been aware of her being there. At least, Eames sounded amused rather than annoyed, so she probably will still be alive after this whole mess._

_If she didn't die of shame and a severe case of stupidity that is._

_Suddenly Arthur added and she was pretty sure that he was smirking too, although she couldn't see their faces from her position: "So if you don't want to lose any important body parts, before we start round number two, you should probably leave now."_

_She hadn't left a room that quickly in her whole life. Once out of the hotel she'd driven right to the hideout and had gone for the sweets._

**End of Flashback**

…

Most of it had happened in a blur, but one thing she was absolutely sure about. Both men had been incredibly tender with each other, despite their knowledge of having a stalker. When Ariadne looked at Dom to answer his question she saw, that she didn't need to.

Dom already knew it.

She sighed in misery before chewing on the chocolate again. "So where does that leave me?" she muttered and Dom looked surprised.

"What do you mean?" he asked and she looked even sadder.

"I'm quite adorable, you know?" she finally burst out pouting. "At university I've had a lot of admirers, but working here, I'll probably never get any attention ever again."

"Aren't you overestimating a little?" Dom sighed and looked a little annoyed.

"No, I'm not. We both know how dangerous it is to look for a relationship outside the team."

"So look inside the team." He said and she stared at him incredulously.

"Didn't we just conclude that there is nobody who wants to go out with me?"

"We concluded that there's a reason why Arthur and Eames certainly have no interest in a relationship with you. Or why Saito, Fisher and Yusuf won't try to get into your pants."

"Yes, exactly. So there's nobody…" she started but was quickly interrupted from an actually annoyed looking Dom.

"What about me?"

And these three words managed to completely shut her up.

For a few minutes both just stared at each other wondering if the other one had finally lost it.

"You can't be serious." Ariadne finally muttered. "You can't possibly want me pointing out why I didn't think about you as a partner."

Dom rolled his eyes.

"Mal's been gone from my head for over ten months now and she's been dead for even longer. There should be an end for the period of mourning."

"So, you are saying that you want to go out with me."

"Well, you finally ARE a full member of this team and you are great with my kids…" his voice trailed off as Ariadne stood and bridged the distance between them.

"Alright." She said and leaned in to kiss him with lips that still tasted like chocolate.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 20****th****October 2010**


	6. Red Die

**RED DIE**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: PG

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thanks for your great work

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: Romance, Established Relationship, Drabble (exactly 1000 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**A/N**: I kept wondering why someone like Arthur would have a die as a totem and why his and Eames' totem would be so similar, when in reality, they were so much different. This is what I came up with.

…

**Red Die**

**a Djap story**

…

Arthur was deep in thought as he rolled his die. Once, twice, thrice, always with the same result. He weighed his totem in his hands wondering how this could have happened.

Although the point man was known for his totem in their business, only Cobb knew the reason why he'd chosen it in the first place. Back then, when he was still young and inexperienced in everything, Dom was the only one who offered him help, which explained why he was still so loyal to the man years later.

One probably could say that he'd also been in love with Dom for years.

He knew that Dom never returned his feelings though and certainly never would. He was a ladies' man and once he met Mal it was pretty safe to say that he was Mal's man from then on. Arthur accepted all of that without a second thought and he also accepted that he'd surely live his life lonely too. He just wasn't interested in dating anybody other than Dom.

At least until he met a most talented forger.

When Arthur met Eames for the first time he quickly realized that the Brit was wooing him in every possible way. Of course he didn't give in at first. Eames was a threat to everything Arthur believed in. With Dom's help he'd learned to be in control of himself, to stick to a tight schedule, to think ahead and to be responsible for his own actions. Arthur clang to these lessons with all the force he could muster, because he was scared to fall apart if he loosened his grip on reality even a tiny bit.

Then, one day Arthur accidently saw Eames' totem. The dream must have been really rough because Eames had needed to check his poker chip immediately. Looking at the totem Arthur was hit by a forceful epiphany. His and Eames' eyes suddenly met over the heads of the rest of the team and Arthur felt his face heat up as Eames smiled knowingly. Eames certainly knew his secret, must have somehow felt their connection and Arthur barely could stand that fact, because the forger clearly had chosen his own totem for similar reasons to Arthur's.

Eames seemed to cope much better with the situation than Arthur though. So the conman was a gambler and had no problem telling anybody who wanted to know. His only difference with Arthur was obviously his ability to stop himself from falling when his needs grew too intense.

Arthur was not point man for nothing and he had never researched anyone this thoroughly before. Eames was a real addict to gambling. Whatever bet he could take, it was a sure thing he would be a part of it and with his whole heart too. He loved risky business and Arthur thought that the only reason why Eames worked in the whole extraction and inception business was because he seemed to firmly believe it to be one big game.

So why didn't he get lost in his addiction? Of course Arthur knew that the man cheated shamelessly whenever he had the opportunity to, but still, sometimes even he lost. And sometimes he lost a lot of money. He never lost the grip on himself though.

Intellectually Arthur knows that the reason why he was attracted to the forger all of a sudden was the wish to learn the answer to this question. So he gave in to the man's advances, letting himself be swept away by Eames' passion and by his surprising loyalty.

Over six months were gone by now, but Arthur wasn't any closer to his answer than he'd been at the start of their relationship. Quite the contrary was actually the case. A few weeks ago Arthur had realized that Eames had stopped taking the risky bets. Eames still gambled, but seemingly just to stay in practice.

Arthur had puzzled about this realization for weeks, before another epiphany hit. Eames was doing it for Arthur's sake. Eames wanted Arthur to be able to keep his routine and he wanted him to be happy. Obviously he feared that the gambling would one day drive Arthur away, because it was just too enticing, so he gave it up for his sake alone.

Just like that. He never even said anything about it to him, not even when they were mad at each other or fighting.

Arthur knew the feeling that must be driving Eames to do this by heart. Arthur had stopped gambling for Cobb, because Dom knew it would break him one day without the proper help. And now it seemed as if Eames was doing exactly the same for him.

There was only one problem: Arthur didn't want Eames to change. He'd actually fallen for the man because of his strength in this. The gambling wouldn't break Eames, because Eames was too strong for that. He was an addict of risk, but he always knew the real limits.

So there was really only one question left and Arthur had no idea how to answer it. Could he trust Eames to keep him from falling? From losing himself in gambling? Could Eames give him back his only real joy in life? Since he'd stopped gambling his life had seemed unbelievably dull and only the prospect of fearing to disappoint the one man who seemed to care, the one man he loved, had held him back.

"What are you thinking about, darling?" Eames suddenly interrupted Arthur's musings.

"About a honeymoon trip to Vegas." Arthur finally said, wondering if Eames would understand him this time too without an elaborate explanation.

He wasn't disappointed, because Eames certainly did.

"Sounds good, but we don't need to." Eames said gauging his words carefully.

"I'd love to." Arthur insisted.

"I'll keep you safe then." Eames decided and hugged Arthur tight from behind.

Arthur leaned back against his lover's chest and sighed contently, a happy smile adorning his features. Dom would be very disappointed, but for the first time in his life Arthur didn't care anymore.

Arthur's heart had finally moved on.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 14****th****October 2010**


	7. Jealousy

**JEALOUSY**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thanks for your patience and your great work

**RATING**: PG13

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**GENRE**: Romance, Drabble (exactly 300 words), Established Relationship

**LANGUAGE**: English

…

**Jealousy**

**a Djap story**

…

Arthur was orphaned when he was still very young and from then on he'd lost practically everything in his life, before he was strong enough to take back whatever he wanted. He'd gotten hurt and exploited by too many people, so one day he stopped trusting altogether which of course wasn't the best foundation for any relationship.

Still, Eames had pursued him for months and surprising himself, Arthur gave in one day. But that didn't mean he trusted the forger.

Arthur would be stupid to trust a conman.

Consequentially Arthur didn't feel any jealousy either, that would mean he expected fidelity from his partner and that would be very illogical too. Arthur was a man, who took pride in his logic, so whenever Eames flirted with anybody, the point man would never even bat an eye.

Never ever.

Well, that is, until one day they met Peter. They were collecting data on their latest mark as they ran into the blond man. With sick fascination Arthur recognized all the important signs: Eames' face lit up like a Christmas tree, both hugged tight and stood in each other's space without being bothered by it. The forger even flashed the same happy smile which actually reached Eames' eyes and was normally meant for Arthur's eyes only.

Arthur didn't allow Eames to tell anybody that they were dating, but in this situation, Arthur suddenly snapped. He grabbed Eames' neck, turned him his way and leaned in to kiss the fucking daylights out of him. Eames didn't return the kiss right away due to his surprise, so Arthur made him by biting his lower lip.

An aroused growl and a forcefully returned kiss was the only answer he could hear over the blood pounding in his ears. So perhaps, Arthur knew jealousy after all.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 18****th****October 2010**


	8. Betrayel

**BETRAYAL**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: R - for dark themes

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money by using them. Promise.

**GENRE**: Drabble (exactly 250 words), Drama, Major Character Death, sad

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you for your patience and your help

**A/N**: This is nothing like the stuff I usually write, so feel warned, for once there's no happy ending to find here.

…

Arthur tenderly stroked the barrel of his favorite gun while he sat inside Eames' former apartment.

The point man had always known, since their very first meeting, that one day the handsome, cocky and most talented forger would be his undoing. So it had been very stupid and illogical to give in to Eames' advances, especially in their line of work, but despite popular belief, Arthur was not an emotionless automaton. Although the point man should have known better, he'd quickly fallen hard for the forger.

It had been unavoidable that Arthur would take the first opportunity out, as soon as the feelings got too much for him to bear. He had wanted a clean break up, had wanted to protect his fragile emotions. It had seemed logical to make the break final through a betrayal at work.

Despite his forebodings Arthur even managed to escape Eames' wrath afterwards and was able to finish the job properly. Since then he'd been waiting for his mental crisis to come, but when Cobb reported him the bad news, Arthur finally realized how very wrong he'd gotten everything.

Eames' suicide had taken place only two weeks after Arthur's betrayal and he had even left a note for the point man in his desperation. Of course Arthur investigated the circumstances but obviously Eames had really died from a severe case of a broken heart.

Despite his logical mind Arthur had never considered the possibility of him being the one who'd break Eames first. He never realized that their feelings might have been mutual. Finally broken, there was only one thing left to do for Arthur. Eames would understand and forgive him. He was probably already waiting for him.

Arthur's smile was bitter-sweet, when he lifted the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 21****st**** October 2010 **


	9. Mirror Image

**MIRROR IMAGE**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**LANGUAGE**: English

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl, thanks for your help

**RATING**: R

**GENRE**: Romance, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Mirror Image**

**a Djap story**

…

Arthur hated this room. Eames had put mirrors on practically every available surface, which included three on each wall, two on the wardrobe and even as much as six on the ceiling. Eames owned them because he was their forger and because he needed to practice acting like whomever he wanted to replace in the mark's dream. Besides, Eames was also a very vain man, who always checked his appearance thrice before leaving the apartment.

Just because he intellectually understood, it didn't mean that Arthur had to like it. Eames had proven more than once that he was Arthur's greatest weakness, so Arthur really didn't need to see it every time they had sex.

At first Arthur had tried to squeeze his eyes shut during the act, preferably the whole time they were both naked, but he liked watching just too much. Eames was very handsome, and even if Arthur disliked seeing himself all needy, sweaty, lust stricken, begging, panting or downright debauched, he never wanted to miss a single second of Eames in passion.

So he never said anything about the mirrors, because Arthur might hate this room with a passion, but he loved the man living in it.

…

**Endless end**

**Finished 6****th****October 2010**


	10. Cleaning

**CLEANING**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: PG

**GENRE**: Romance, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl, thanks for your fantastic work with me

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Cleaning**

**a Djap story**

…

When Eames reached his flat in London, which was the only place he really considered home, he was surprised to see that he wasn't alone. A strange feeling hit him there, as he stood at the door. He realized for the first time that his relationship with Arthur had finally changed.

They'd always secretly lusted after each another and one day, they both just couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't even a special occasion, just the dawning realization that it was now or probably never.

Eames had never told anyone about this place before but he gave Arthur his spare key without giving it a second thought.

Arthur must have arrived a few days before, because Eames could see that he'd done quite a lot of work. While the Brit went inside, he took in the dusted shelves and the cleaned windows. His books had been sorted through and when Eames reached his bedroom he discovered aired and clean sheets as well as a rearranged wardrobe, which now included most of Arthur's clothes.

When Eames found Arthur on his knees, scrubbing away on the bathroom tiles, Eames could name the strange new feeling coursing through his body.

It was love.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 1****st****October 2010 **


	11. Fight

**FIGHT**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: PG13 – for kissing

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you for your patient work with me

**GENRE**: Romance, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SERIES**: Epiphany-Series

**DEDICATION: **for Tatarnikova, whose drawing 'jealousy' inspired me to this**; **thank you.

…

**Fight**

**a Djap story**

…

„Do you really want to discuss this in front of them?" Eames yelled, causing all color to leave Arthur's face. He was giving a back rub to Ariadne (because she had asked, because he was good in such things and because it made Arthur jealous). Arthur had made another scathing comment about Eames bedding everyone and that they should get a room (because he _was _jealous, but too scared to admit it), as Eames suddenly snapped.

"Don't you dare!" Arthur warned but to no avail (because he could see it in Eames' eyes; this was the moment of truth).

"It was you who came to me for sex, not the other way around! And it was also you who ended our relationship! So make up your mind, stick with your decision and stop playing with me!"

None of the team had ever seen Eames like this. He looked really angry and hurt and sad and Arthur realized that if he didn't follow the man's advice now, he'd lose him forever. So instead of yelling back he kissed him (because losing Eames was not an option).

"Get yourself a room." Ariadne winked, leaving the room with the rest of the team.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 6****th****October 2010 **


	12. Visitor

**VISITOR**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames, OFC

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – I'm really glad you liked this one.

**RATING**: PG

**GENRE**: Humor, Established Relationship, Romance, Drabble (exactly 1000 words)

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Visitor**

**a Djap story**

…

"Who are you?" Cobb asked the elderly woman who was waiting for them at their hideout.

"Frieda Theresia Jolanta Eames." She answered smugly before adding "It's bad manners to ask for a name without giving your own, Mr. Cobb. Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

"Did you just say 'Eames'?" Cobb asked wide-eyed the same time their own Eames entered, muttering "Granny?"

"My little boy." She crooned, opening her arms for her grandson. Eames went over to her immediately and got pulled into a bear hug.

"I was in Vegas when I heard the good news, I had just swindled the third jackpot in a row, so I decided to give it a break and pay you a visit."

"It's good to see you." Eames beamed "You look really good, granny."

Cobb still was trying to understand how the hell she'd found them. Eames knew better than to tell family where to find them. "But how…?"

Mrs. Eames just grinned knowingly as her grandson answered for her, "Now don't be silly, Dom. Everything I know, I learned from Granny. She's the best gambler and the best impostor of the whole world. If she were into the extraction business she'd be the best forger to ever walk on this planet."

"If she's so famous why have I never heard her name before?" Cobb asked but Eames just rolled his eyes.

"I said 'the best', Dom. Pay attention. She wouldn't be 'the best' if you knew something as important as her name."

"So I heard of your big coup, my dear boy." Grandmother Eames interrupted and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I'm very proud of you." She softly stroked his cheek causing his smile to broaden.

"Thank you, Granny." he whispered, mirroring the gesture at her cheek in obvious awe, beaming with pride and joy.

Suddenly she looked sternly at him though "But now back to why I'm here. How is it you plan to marry without asking your old granny about it? You aren't trying to deny me the opportunity of meeting the young man beforehand, are you?"

Cobb started babbling incoherently. "Marry? Eames? _MAN_? What the _hell_…?"

Eames reassured: "I'd never do that granny. I bought the tickets already. We wanted to come visit you at the first opportunity after finishing the job. As for the engagement…" here he blushed a little and for the first time ever Cobb saw the man looking sheepish "…it was in the heat of the moment. We didn't know if we'd survive the job and I didn't want to miss my best opportunity at happiness…" here his voice trailed off.

Her stern look didn't waver though. Instead she focused on the man standing at the door behind Eames and said: "Good afternoon, Arthur, my boy."

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Eames." If the point-man was surprised at her arrival, he didn't show it as he made his way over and formally shook her hand. "Shall I fetch you some tea and biscuits?"

And suddenly, in Cobb's head, the pieces of the puzzle added and he fainted with a loud thud. It disturbed no one, as Grandmother Eames was still assessing the young man in front of her.

"How much time do you need to reassemble your gun?"

"Thirty seconds."

"I hear you're supposed to be a good shot?"

"100% the last time I bothered with a test."

"I'd like that tea now." She finally said and obediently Arthur went to the kitchen.

Eames look was still pleading. "So?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet." She answered dismissively. "But he is quite handsome. You must have inherited your good taste from me."

That comment made her grandson smile. "Of course I did, I fell for him the second we met." He told her whispering, but it was loud enough that Yusuf, who usually was a little slow in these things, finally got it and also fainted.

Arthur returned with a tray bearing tea, a few biscuits, milk and sugar. He put it down and offered one cup to their visitor. She sniffed it cautiously then she suddenly sported a broad smile as she took a sip.

Her eyes gleamed when she looked at Arthur. "You either have quite an excellent taste in brandy or you are just the best point-man I ever met."

Arthur acknowledged the praise with a nod, sipping his own cup of tea thoughtfully.

"So you promise me to take care of my boy?"

"Of course, Mrs. Eames. It will be my pleasure."

"Can you afford his life style then?"

Arthur's face didn't change for a second, but he sounded actually smug, when he answered.

"That's a trick question, Mrs. Eames. We both know your grandson is perfectly capable of affording his lifestyle on his own. But to humor you, although I'm fairly sure you know that much already: of course I could, if I set my mind to it."

Grandmother Eames nodded her approval, showing her pleasure from the answer. Then another question, delivered sharp as a nail and asked with just as much vengeance.

"Do you love him?"

"Of course. Since the first moment we met."

"Did you buy the rings?" she turned to her grandson.

"Already engraved, Granny."

It was Ariadne's turn to lose it in a happy giggling gurgle that spoke of juicy fantasies and a very romantic attitude. Of course nobody paid it any attention.

"So what do you say?" Eames asked, actually sounding afraid of the answer. He was still kneeling in front of his grandmother, who turned her head to focus her gaze on him.

For a small eternity she didn't show any emotion, but then she started to smile and both men visibly relaxed.

"I'm very happy for you, my dear boy. You've made quite the catch."

It was Saito's turn to finally pipe in a generous offer.

"I could buy you a chapel." He was ignored like anybody else, when Grandmother Eames asked another question.

"So when exactly do you plan to adopt my great-grand-children?"

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 3****rd****October 2010**


	13. Retirement

**RETIREMENT**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: R

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: Romance, Established Relationship, Shortstory (around 2600 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar

**A/N**: If you are all about young and strong bodies, this one might be nothing for you. This is about older guys getting it on with each other – and I'm talking really 'old' here. Feel warned!

…

**Retirement**

**a Djap story**

…

"… oh and Phillippa?" Arthur said "Tell Ariadne and your brother I said hi, okay? Right, I will. Bye."

Arthur terminated the phone connection right as his partner opened the door to their apartment. The former point man instinctually grabbed his favorite gun, which still lay hidden under his pillow although they had been retired from the business for many years now, and pointed it at the door. He could hear the tall tell shuffle of Eames steps which had become very familiar over the years they had lived together in this or any other apartment. Still, safety first, so he was relieved when Eames was alone as the former forger cautiously opened the door to the bedroom.

He smirked down the barrel of Arthur's gun and offered:

"Good morning to you too, darling. Sleep well?"

Time had been kind to his lover, Arthur mused as he put the gun safely away. Eames' hair had gone gray just like his own many years ago, but his face hadn't crinkled up at all unlike Arthur's own features. Only the laughing lines had become deeper and there were a few more lines around the eyes than back when they met for the first time. For the rest, Eames still looked like he was in his mid fifties, despite his actual age which wasn't anywhere near that anymore.

As they grew older they hadn't worked out as much as they used to do, but they still went on regular runs and they had started with gymnastics instead of their usual heavier work-out so their bodies would stay in good shape.

Today was Sunday though, which meant definitely no morning run. Sundays mean a quiet morning in bed, a delicious breakfast (for which Eames had just bought the necessary croissants), catching up with their former working partners and hopefully some very lazy sex that filled up the rest of it until it was time for lunch.

"How's Cobb?" Eames asked while he freed himself from his deep purple parka and his matching scarf and wool cap.

"Phillippa says he's good. He came back from hospital on Thursday, and the doctors said that he'll be fine in a few weeks."

"A seizure is nothing to laugh at." Eames said and disrobed even further, freeing himself from his shoes and socks, jeans and pullover. Down to shorts and t-shirt he slipped under the heavy duvet bringing the croissants with him.

"No it isn't, but you know him. He just can't take it slow. The day he takes things slowly is the day he'll be dead." Arthur reached for the tray on his bedside table, which he'd prepared while his lover had been out for the croissants. On it he'd placed a cup of coffee, black, and a cup of tea, sugar and cream, for Eames, as well as some butter and jelly. Beside it there were some grapes, probably the last ones before winter and a banana.

"Thankfully he listens to the voice of reason in the form of Ariadne scolding him." Eames grinned and Arthur answered that with one of his own small smiles.

They dug in on the food both feeling ravished, which might have to do with this being such a nice habit and the charming company instead of the actual need for food.

"Yusuf?" Eames asked in between two bites of croissant.

"Still working in his labs. I've only been talking to his wife, because he was already bringing some people in, his latest batch. He has minimized the side effects and they can stay under for an hour now." Arthur answered already starting in on the grapes.

"Saito?"

Arthur sighed.

"Not good. We could talk only about four minutes before he had another coughing fit and the doctors cancelled the connection."

"Chemo working?"

"Yes, but not as good as it should. Fisher's a mess."

"I can imagine." Eames said and looked worried at Arthur.

"I am fine, Eames. Stop worrying."

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Eames whispered, the confession sounding as if it were pressed out of him by sheer force of will.

"Eames…" Arthur sighed suddenly not hungry anymore. They've had this discussion often enough, but the fact was, that Arthur wasn't the only one who had grown old. Both of them had gone through different diseases and they should consider themselves lucky that they still were as healthy as this.

"I love you." Eames said, just exactly like the first time he'd done it and every time afterwards. The words had always come easily to Eames mouth, which was the reason why at first Arthur had so much trouble to believe them as truth. They certainly hadn't come easily for Arthur. He still felt his heart rate quicken and the heart beat pound against his chest every time he said it.

"I love you too. Now stop worrying. You'll ruin the good mood I'm in." Arthur tried to lighten the mood and to his relief, he seemed to have succeeded in that.

"Good mood?" Eames inquired and sent him a lewd look, licking those sinful lips.

Arthur's look dropped to the former forgers lips, unconsciously repeating the move. "Yes." He finally stated and deliberately put the tray away. When he returned he was already holding the lube and a condom and Eames lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Check for yourself." Arthur offered and obediently Eames' hands sneaked under the covers to the front of the former point-man's shorts.

"Thinking about me or was it the excitement of Cobb's returning health?" Eames asked smirking.

Eames sounded teasing, but Arthur could hear the real question behind the mask. After all these years Eames was still insecure about Arthur's former crush on Cobb.

"I think only about you, Mr. Eames." Arthur purred and straddled his forger's hips. Eames wiggled his hips slightly under Arthur's ass, rubbing his filling erection against firm cheeks. "It's always only you for me, love. Never doubt it."

"I'll try." Eames said and Arthur sighed again. It was probably ridiculous that after all these years it was still Eames who doubted their relationship. Arthur had always thought he would be the one to do that. But he had fallen hard and quick for his partner and it wasn't important how long he needed to say the words and acknowledge what he'd known already in his heart.

"Do you really want to break the mood when for once I got it up enough to actually fuck you through the mattress?" Arthur said mockingly and Eames grinned.

"No, that would be a very stupid thing to do." Eames said and checked a second time, if the former point man was really able to make good on his promise.

They had always both enjoyed their sex-life to a great extent and they were anything but ready to give it up due to their age. Of course it had changed a little with time. When they started, their coupling had been severe, intense, quick, hormonal driven and not often very loving. Actually, right at the beginning, they probably did it just to relieve the growing tension between them. But it soon grew to something else and the sex changed from quick and dirty to hours and hours of exploring and the much slower pace of endless pleasure.

Then, they had grown old together and the first diseases made their appearance. The first erectile dysfunctions appeared and after the initial embarrassment they found a way to work it out: together. They just loved their sex too much to give it up just because it had gotten a little difficult.

They learned that sucking dick could still be a great experience even if they couldn't get a full erection. That touching each other could still give much needed carnal pleasure even if it didn't end with an orgasm on both sides anymore.

Being patient with each other at those times soon rewarded them in unexpected ways as the erections returned from time to time, so they could bring each other off again like they'd always loved to do.

This Sunday morning certainly looked like they both would be happy and sated for once. They hadn't been up for a decent fuck in about three weeks, so this was a situation they surely should cherish.

Back when they started this Arthur had mostly topped, as it came natural to him and Eames didn't care much either way. Arthur just didn't like giving away control, but when their relationship grew he soon forgot about this predicament. Eames could be very annoying outside of bed, but inside he wasn't one for teasing – at least not in the non-sexual way, which was of course an entirely different cause altogether. Arthur had taken to like bottoming once in a while, which was good, because he'd been the first having problems with getting erections.

Arthur was definitely the better top though, which both of them had decided in agreement. So it was no surprise that they both were looking forward to this encounter and had soon lost their clothing in between wet kisses and hungry touches. The pace was slow though and they liked it that way. This was such an easy way to show how much they still wanted to be with each other and Arthur took extra time to do that as Eames had just reminded him how insecure he still got after such a long time.

The decision on which position they should choose was, as always, not made easily. They always argued over that, although over time their repertoire had shrunk a little due to their age.

"Old fashioned, me on my knees, you pounding in me hard." Eames said and sounded very earnest but Arthur was already shaking his head.

"On our sides, spooning against each other and slow. I haven't been this hard in weeks, we could really make this one last."

This time Eames shook his head. "No, you don't have enough working space for your skilled hips, darling. And I want to enjoy all of your skills."

The decision had often been a little easier when they were younger because the one on top had just manhandled the other one in the preferred position, or they had decided for a position in which they could look into each other's eyes. Sadly both were out of question now, as they had realized, especially for the latter in a very embarrassing encounter, their bones and muscles just weren't up to it anymore for those positions and the last time they had tried Eames had ended up dislocating something and Arthur got a lumbago.

"Me riding you?" Eames asked with hope in his eyes but Arthur shook his head again.

"No way. I know how much your knees are still bothering you and I won't enjoy this with you being in so much pain."

Both fell silent as they stared at each other pouting. In the end they decided for the flip of a coin, which Arthur did because both knew Eames would cheat doing it.

Eames won though and Arthur gave in to his partner's wishes. It would still be a strain for Eames' knees, but the man was a big boy and could decide for himself what he wanted or not. Of course that didn't mean Arthur couldn't stretch this out as long as possible while preparing him.

Eames knew Arthur was deliberately slow and teasing, but for most of it he stayed silent, until he really couldn't take it anymore.

"Come on, please, darling…" he panted and Arthur knew Eames wouldn't be game for any more begging. Surprisingly the Brit wasn't very vocal in bed which suited Arthur just fine. Still, Eames begging was a sight that never failed to arouse him just that tiny bit more.

Arthur tried to take this as slow as possible though, but although Eames was a natural bottom, he certainly was also a very pushy one. Soon he was quickening the pace by taking over the movements to spur Arthur on, but as his pants morphed into pained grunts due to his knees, Arthur stilled him at his hips and took over.

He knew exactly the right angle to hit Eames' sweet spot and he also knew how hard and how fast to thrust to give his lover maximal pleasure. Soon enough he could hear his lover's pants grow into quiet moans that announced the former forger's fast approaching orgasm.

He helped Eames along with it, searching in front of his body for his erection and started to match his stroking with his thrusts. When Eames reached his personal high he went all still, his head thrown into his neck, cock pulsing three times in Arthur's soft grip. It was always a surreal moment, one in which they both felt connected in a way they had never been with anybody else.

As soon as Eames started gasping for breath again he toppled over into his pillow, boneless and sated, taking Arthur with him. He went all soft and pliant and murmured.

"Come on darling, it's your turn now."

That was everything Arthur had waited for. Permission clearly given he started back in with his thrusts, still not as slow as he would have liked because he didn't want to strain the now sensitive flesh too much, but at least slow enough to give him the much needed kick out of this.

He came with a drawn out moan that always felt like it was ripped directly out of his heart. It was a very good feeling and a welcome reminiscence of their younger days.

One thing that hadn't changed was Eames' capability to bear Arthur's weight. The former point man didn't weigh much anyway, but Eames had a preference for his partners to sleep on him. As Arthur was always too cold anyway and Eames was like a small oven right in his bed, that never proved to be a problem.

Thanks to that Arthur could enjoy the feeling of finally being connected in such an intimate way again a little longer, as he didn't need to pull out immediately. The condom they used wasn't for protection anymore anyway. They knew they were not only healthy enough, but also faithful and very monogamous in their relationship. Arthur just found it more practical as it left them less sticky and easier to clean up afterwards, so it wasn't a problem if he didn't pull out before he had to and it slipped a little.

So he gave in to the impulse of a little nap, as this little morning gymnastics had quite worn him out. Eames was already fast asleep anyway, as the soft snoring told him.

When Arthur finally fell asleep, he wondered whether they could trick their bodies next Sunday into a repetition of this weekend's activities or if they would have to get more imaginative again.

Any way, it didn't matter as long as they did it together, no matter what.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 27****th**** October 2010**


	14. Hysterics

**HYSTERICS**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING: **Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thanks for your patience and your help

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: Humor, Established Relationship, Drabble (Exactly 200 words)

**RATING**: NC17

**SERIES: **Epiphany, Advent Calendar

…

**Hysterics**

**a Djap story**

…

"Do you have the slightest idea what is so funny it caused Ariadne fall over laughing?" Arthur asked sounding only a little more breathless than usual.

"She probably didn't expect to catch us like this: you fucking me bent over your desk with me moaning your name like a prayer and coming all over your precious notes, darling." Eames answered reasonably. He grimaced slightly as Arthur pulled out of his body, because he already missed the intimate connection.

"We weren't even doing something kinky, like when Cobb caught us covered in food, licking it off each other."

"Or Saito walking in on us as I posed for you in stockings and that pink dress."

"Or the time Yusuf found you spanking me with that new paddle, tied to the ceiling and with that enormous new dildo up my ass, which we just bought from that new store."

"I definitely enjoyed that one, darling... Interested in another round?" Eames asked eying his lover's cock hungrily. It twitched.

"Did I tell you yet that I went shopping yesterday?"

Weeks later Ariadne would still break into giggles each time she saw one of them, causing both man to roll their eyes in exasperation.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 8****th**** October 2010**


	15. Bullet

**BULLET**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**GENRE**: Established Relationship, Angst, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you for your help.

**RATING**: PG13 – for violence

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Pity.

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SERIES**: Epiphany-Series, Advent Calendar 2010: 3rd December

…

**Bullet**

**a Djap story**

…

"Eames, stay awake! Please!" Arthur begged and it sounded so heartbreakingly lost that the rest of the team averted their eyes to give them some privacy.

But the forger had already lost consciousness and Yusuf was driving for all his life was worth. This was no dream, this was reality and Eames had just gotten shot in the stomach. There had been no avoiding it, the police had just barged in on them and they barely managed to escape after Eames got shot. He threw himself in front of a bullet, which was clearly meant for Arthur.

Cobb tried to calm Arthur down, who was obviously close to losing it in front of them all.

"Just a few more minutes and Saito will be able to get us all out safely. Please calm down."

"Calm down?" Arthur yelled, despite the circumstances throwing a punch at Cobb, who dodged it. "You have no idea, what…" he started but Cobb interrupted.

"Of course we know. We all have known for a while. Did you forget? We are the best at collecting secrets no one wants to tell."

Arthur leaned back in to Eames.

"Please, love, I need you. Stay with me! Please."

**...**

**Endless End**

**Finished 1****st**** October 2010 **


	16. Armchair

**ARMCHAIR**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you ;)

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: Romance, Established Relationship, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Armchair**

**a Djap story**

…

Cobb had never seen this one coming, which was a sure sign of how occupied Mal kept his mind lately, although she was long gone. Well, obviously he must have been blind to it for quite a while, because you didn't reach this level of intimacy only by having sex a few times.

Arthur was sitting in the one indulgence he had allowed himself: his favorite reading armchair. Although, in the light of this new discovery, Cobb wondered if the real indulgence wasn't the chair but the man currently sitting behind Arthur, holding him in a loose embrace while both silently read the notes on their latest mark. Usually Eames was everything Arthur wasn't, which was why they constantly bickered. They only shared a fascination for guns, their tendency for fraud and theft and, obviously, their preference for male lovers.

But here they were sitting, Arthur slowly turning the pages at Eames' light nods, the forger's hand absently drawing light circles on Arthur's thighs. If they realized that they'd been caught, they never mentioned anything about it.

Their boss also kept quiet about it, because he'd loved once too.

This level of intimacy was not to be shared with outsiders.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 5****th****October 2010**


	17. Desperate Measures

**DESPERATE MEASURES**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Eames x Arthur

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money by using them. Promise.

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you for your patience with me

**RATING**: PG13 – for suggestions

**GENRE**: h/c, Established Relationship, Drabble (exactly 300 words)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Desperate Measures**

**a Djap story**

…

"Darling, are you alright?" Eames sounded worried and looked curiously at Arthur's strange behavior. The point-man had just loosened his tie in the middle of the working day and had opened the top three buttons of his shirt.

"Something's wrong, Eames. I'm way too hot…" Arthur mumbled, a red tinge on his cheeks giving him a feverish look. Eames was up in an instant, drawing the attention of everybody in the room. The forger checked Arthur's pupils, which were slightly dilated. The point man's skin also burned up under Eames' probing fingertips. Arthur couldn't suppress a moan as he leaned into the touch and Eames' eyebrows lifted in wonder. As he discretely checked the state of Arthur's neither regions, his suspicion was confirmed. "Let's get you out of here, darling."

"But…" Arthur tried to protest.

"No." Eames sounded so serious, Arthur shut up immediately. "I'll bring you home and take care of you."

Despite his preoccupation Arthur sensed that this situation must be pretty serious. "What…?"

"Don't worry, darling. Everything will be fine." By now Arthur was practically clinging to Eames and as the forger moved to walk him to the door, the point man couldn't suppress a whimper. His state of arousal was now evident to everybody in the hideout and there was no room to imagine what Eames meant with 'taking care'.

At the door Eames turned a last time, barely able to hold Arthur upright: "As for you Ariadne…" His voice sounded deadly and she swallowed hard, real fear creeping up on her "…while I can tolerate you flirting with my lover, you can't imagine what I will do to you for drugging him with an aphrodisiac just to seduce him. This will have consequences for you, and believe you me, you won't know what hit you."

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 10****th****October 2010 or 10.10.10**


	18. Shut Up

**SHUT UP**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**RATING**: PG

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thank you for your great work and your patience

**GENRE**: Drabble (exactly 200 words), Romance, Established Relationship, Fluff

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

…

**Shut up**

**a Djap story**

…

Arthur was bone tired as he reached their base.

Eames, who hadn't been needed on this job, was currently lounging on their sofa and watching mindless TV. He looked bored and full of mischief, which was always a bad combination for him. Arthur could practically see the wheels turn in his lover's head thinking of a snide and teasing remark about his state of tiredness.

Arthur knew that he was too tired to stand it this time.

So he ignored the eyes of Cobb and Yusuff and Ariadne and Saito on him and just did the only thing he knew worked well enough to shut Eames up: Arthur walked over to the sofa and draped his body over Eames' resting figure.

Arthur smiled contentedly, because Eames expectedly remained silent as he focused on curling one of his hands in his lover's hair, while the other softly stroked the skin on Arthur's back under his usually impeccable suit.

Of course Eames knew he'd been played and was surely already planning revenge for revealing their secret relationship to the rest of the team. But for now Arthur was content to just stay where he was and drift into a dreamless, happy slumber.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 23****rd****September 2010**


	19. Moonlight Desires

**MOONLIGHT DESIRES**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and neither does the poetry. First belongs to Nolan, the second to Shelley. I won't make money with any of it. Promise.

**RATING**: NC17

**GENRE**: First Time, One-Shot

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar

**LANGUAGE**: English

**SUMMARY**: a classic in this fandom, really. Eames wants to get in Arthur's pants and tries it with a shared dream. He's in for a surprise.

…

**Moonlight Desires**

**a Djap story**

…

_**The fountains mingle with the river**_

_**And the rivers with the ocean,**_

_**The winds of Heaven mix for ever**_

_**With a sweet emotion;**_

_**Nothing in the world is single,**_

_**All things by a law divine**_

_**In one spirit meet and mingle—**_

_**Why not I with thine?**_

…

Eames was nervous when he pushed the PASIV needle into his vein. He'd worked very hard for this single moment and he still had the feeling he would screw this up terribly. But he was desperate and this was the only solution he could think of.

Arthur was such a secretive creature and he was unbelievably good as point man. So far, Eames had only seen Arthur kill people in the dreamscape, but he must be even more of a beauty doing it in reality. Eames knew that Arthur had spent many years working for the military despite his youthful and sometimes harmless looks. He was older than most people thought. Right from the start, Eames had felt something grow inside him for the lean American, and it sacred the living daylights out of him.

Eames had been with plenty attractive people before, and still bedded a sexy stranger once or twice a week, but Arthur was different and his pleasing appearance only added to his already alluring mix. Besides, Eames couldn't read Arthur and it was driving him insane. He was used to people being open books to him without them even noticing it. But Arthur was aware of that and deliberately stayed unpredictable whenever he was around the Brit. It made him interesting, more so than any other person Eames has met so far. This fact, in combination with Arthur's looks and his deadly efficiency, had Eames fall head over heels so quickly it made his head spin.

Of course he had tried to seduce Arthur. Of course, occasionally he found a button to push and annoy him. But he never really won an open fight against him and he certainly never conquered him in the more sweaty ways of life. Eames blood was boiling for Arthur and he was obsessed with the thought of finally finding out what made Arthur tick.

He has been working on this for months, since they started to work together on a regular basis after Inception. Cobb was keeping them together, picking more and more legal work, which suited them all just fine. They had enough money after Saito had paid them. They only kept working in the business because once you travelled this high, you just couldn't leave it. It also gave all of them the opportunity to use the PASIV legally to dream once in a while because they all lost the ability after Inception.

And Arthur was doing that right now and Eames was about to use that for his advantage. He really should know better, but he just saw no other way. Arthur wouldn't let him in and Eames wasn't about to give up the only real love interest he had ever developed. He wanted Arthur, badly, and if he needed to cheat to get what he wanted, then he'd do it. He was a conman after all.

…

Eames found himself sitting on a sandy beach when he opened his eyes. He had expected as much from the few glimpses into the dream he had taken before. The tide was low and stars were already twinkling brightly above his head although some people would still consider it being dusk. The summer night air had cooled down considerably from the hot temperatures of day. It had turned to a now pleasurable temperature.

Eames looked down and found himself wearing clothes from the seventies jeans and a ridiculous tie-dyed shirt. His feet were bare and buried inside the sand. Eames touched his face and felt cleanly shaven, glasses firmly in their place. He touched his hair that felt unusually short and was brought in form with hair gel.

Eames knew exactly how he looked right now. It was surprising though, that it should be this easy. He would have liked to take a closer look around now that he was wearing the proper disguise, but he already spotted Arthur coming for him. Arthur was wandering on the edge of the shoreline with bare feet and his dress shoes in his hand. He was wearing his prom suit, feet splashing salt water with each step he took.

This was the night of Arthur's high school graduation party and probably a cherished memory of his first boyfriend. When Eames looked into this more, the forger had found out that this was probably Arthur's first time, or at least a special moment in his relationship. Eames had seen Arthur in action like this before. The first few times Eames had violated Arthur's privacy he'd found him rolling on the beach with the other boy, probably screwing each other's brains out.

Eames had made himself look at first, but it just hurt too much. That Arthur would prefer to sleep with a lover that was long gone, instead of giving in to Eames' seduction may be understandable, but still hurt the Brit deeply. He never stayed until the end, always fearing that Arthur's very well trained and always alert subconscious would spot him and tear him to pieces. Eames should be grateful that he spied into this kind of dream, because it bore much less projections for the sake of privacy, so had less possibilities to get caught spying.

Eames' hands were sweaty with nervousness and anticipation, as Arthur finally reached him. He was wearing a look on his face, that Eames had even more trouble reading than usually. Arthur stopped shortly before him and cocked his head, causing Eames to panic a little inside, then he asked.

"This is a very beautiful night, isn't it?"

Eames wasn't prepared for talk. He'd stupidly assumed Arthur would go for what he came for and it hadn't looked like having a pleasant conversation beforehand would be on top of that list. Eames actually couldn't talk, because he had no idea how the voice of the man, whom he was forging, should sound, because he'd died many years ago and there were no voice recordings of any kind on which the Brit could have gotten his hands.

So instead of saying anything he flashed what he hoped was a reassuring smiled and reached out for the standing man with his right hand. Arthur lifted a surprised eyebrow but let himself be pulled down on the sand. Another surprised moan escaped the point man's lips, as he was pulled in a heated kiss, which he didn't return. Eames had never seen who started the sex in these dreams, but judging by Arthur's reaction it usually wasn't the man Eames was forging right now.

Eames hoped that Arthur would just attribute it to the wishful thinking of his own subconscious and thankfully, just as he was about to break the connection, Arthur started kissing back. The intensity with which he did surprised Eames though. Arthur was a messy kisser and dominated the kiss from the very first moment. Eames let him easily, feeling incredibly turned on by the turn of events and unexpected discovery.

Arthur's tongue was slick against Eames' chin, sliding obscenely, biting, nipping, possessing his mouth in ways Eames hadn't thought possible. The forger's greatest problem was to stay quiet and to keep his disguise up, because he couldn't even moan or groan. He was a talker in bed, always had been and certainly always will, so this was agony. Even the moans would probably sound wrong, so he kept biting the inside of his cheek and his lips whenever they weren't kissing.

Arthur had successes in being all over him in about three seconds flat. Currently they were lying in the sand, Eames on his back and Arthur towering over him, hands already under the shirt, thigh pushed between Eames' slightly opened legs. Arthur's awakened erection was pushing against his hip and Eames was rubbing his own hard dick against Arthur's thigh. Arthur's hands were roaming frantically over Eames forged body when Arthur lifted his head from Eames' neck to initiate a second round of toe-curling kisses.

Eames wasn't in his right mind due to the lust wiping away his rational thought, but he soon realized that Arthur was playing with him. His movements were passionate and dominating, yes, but also very teasing, and for a moment, he forgot that he was supposed to do what Arthur obviously wanted him to. Gods of thievery, he was the greatest tease around and he wasn't about to give that place up to Arthur. Not even in the point man's own mind. He braced himself, adjusted his weight oh so slightly and yes, with a sharp push and roll of his hips he'd reversed their positions.

Arthur was now lying under him, look of utter surprise plastered all over his flushed face and the kiss-swollen lips. He was panting heavily and blinking up to him, and Eames realized that this might have been a fatal mistake. He dove in for mitigation and groped Arthur through his pants, eliciting a sharp moan and caused the point man's eyes to flutter shut.

Eames didn't want to give Arthur too much time to process any of this, so he hurried to glide down over Arthur's body and open the pants as quickly as he could. Just as he was about to lean in and swallow that very mouth-watering head to blow not only Arthur's cock but also his mind, he felt the cool touch of the barrel of Arthur's favorite gun against his head.

"It's very impolite to spy on your coworker, especially when you're both working in the dream business." Arthur didn't even sound breathless anymore and suddenly Eames realized that all of his reactions must have been a show for his benefit.

Darn. Was Arthur even the better forger?

"What do you want from me, Mr. Eames? Who pays you for my secrets?" Arthur continued and Eames let drop the disguise, because really, why keep it up?

"How did you know it was me?" Eames said slowly, answering the question with one of his own. He sat up and moved to the side, sitting down into the sand beside Arthur. The point man wouldn't kill him here, because he'd gain nothing from that, but he certainly could inflict some major pain.

Besides, Arthur owned a gun in real life too.

Arthur snorted. "How dumb do you think I am exactly?" the point man retorted and rolled his eyes, lying the gun beside him on the beach, securely out of Eames reach.

"I think you are the cleverest point man I've ever worked with. But you can still be pretty dumb in other things." That wasn't only the truth, but even in danger for his life, Eames couldn't resist teasing Arthur.

"And that would be in which things?" Arthur asked clearly having decided to humor him for the time being.

"That would be in matters of the heart, darling..." Arthur snorted, but Eames continued, not deterred by that "and in the fact that you thought me arrogant enough to believe I could steal any of your secrets."

"You certainly are arrogant enough to try." Arthur said then added "You were also the first one to try Inception."

"Yes. And I failed miserably. Give me some credit here."

"I won't, because I don't trust you." Arthur said sounding serious.

That was the whole problem, wasn't it?

Eames sighed. "Yes, I know. You actually don't even trust Cobb, right? Perhaps nobody… and certainly not yourself."

And honestly, how sad was that?

"If I weren't so cautious, if I weren't on guard all the time, I would have been killed years ago." Arthur defended himself.

"True." Eames admitted and added "but also pathetic. How much is your life worth if you never live it?"

"I know how to enjoy myself." Arthur said and the tone surprised him. Arthur didn't sound apologetic or defending or miffed. He sounded resigned and honest. And for once Eames had the impression he had finally figured the other man out.

"I can imagine. That's why I kept hoping you'd give in to me one day."

"I didn't think you were serious."

"Liar." Eames said sounding very sure of himself and Arthur sent him a small, seemingly real smile. "I am serious, darling. Very much so." Eames finally confessed, wondering what Arthur would make out of that.

"You don't want me. You just want to solve the puzzle that is me."

"Also true, but I'm pretty sure that you will be a puzzle I need a very long to time to solve."

"Perhaps you're overestimating me, Mr. Eames. Perhaps I'm a very boring person, who hides behind a mask of rules and responsibility."

"Maybe." Eames admitted "But I'll never know if I don't give it a chance. Perhaps that boring persona inside of you is exactly what I want or rather, what I need. What if I need someone to keep me steady? Besides, I have been a gambler for most of my life so I've been known to take risks." Eames winked and tried to sound nonchalant, but he wasn't sure he succeeded. He was so nervous his hands were sweating profusely and he had difficulties even thinking straight.

Was Arthur playing with him? Or was this a real conversation? Perhaps the first real conversation they'd ever had?

"Yeah, you are a gambler, which is exactly my point. Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you as soon as we wake up for trying to steal my secrets? You certainly would be arrogant enough to take on a job about me."

"Arrogant enough? Certainly. Dumb enough? Probably. But to a few select people I'm also loyal and your oh so proper researches should have made that clear to you too."

That rebuke made Arthur frown and hesitate so Eames could add, "How did you know it was me? I _am_ the best forger around. And I did my homework too."

Arthur seemed to have an inner debate going whether he should give Eames that much information or not. Then Arthur's body language suddenly changed from attentive to pliant and for a moment Eames thought it was another ruse, because Arthur certainly wouldn't give in to him that easily.

On the other hand, Arthur very seldom did what was expected of him, especially when he was aware that people thought they had figured him out. That defiance was what partly drew Eames to him after all.

"I have to give you that. Long after I started working for Cobb, I did some research on Felix too and even I couldn't find anything about how he'd really been and I am certainly the best at what I do too."

Eames nodded. Felix, which was the name of the teen he'd tried to forge, had shown no sign of being gay at all and there was not even the tiniest evidence of him dating Arthur.

"I take it, your crush on him was never returned?" Eames hazarded a guess, causing Arthur to bark a laugh without any real humor that seemed to tear his throat apart.

"You could say that."

"So you made this fantasy up to get your heart's desire?" That sounded like something a teenage girl would say, but Eames was still surprised at how readily Arthur was explaining himself. It couldn't be that easy, right? Something was off.

"In one way or another."

Another evasive answer and Eames knew he wasn't anything near the truth.

"What is it I'm not getting?"

Arthur chuckled, still not with much humor, but at least less sad than before.

"I think your arrogance is getting in your way." Arthur said cryptically and Eames mind was racing. What the hell was that supposed to mean? And then, suddenly, the epiphany hit.

"You knew I was there right from the first day I spied into your dreams, right? You probably never even touched him before in that dream of yours."

Arthur neither confirmed nor denied Eames' suspicion, but Eames knew he was finally getting on the right track.

"So what else did you make this dream for?"

"To take revenge." Arthur practically growled. "I blame him for making me who I am now."

"But why all the kissing? Just to get me on the wrong track?"

Again Arthur didn't answer and waited for Eames to figure out the right question to ask. To Eames, this suddenly seemed like a game and when he found enough ways to cheat and with enough luck, perhaps he would be getting the prize he hoped for. Still, it was difficult even for the gambler to cheat when he didn't know all rules yet.

Okay, fine. Eames gave it another thought. Arthur might have suspected he would invade his dreams at one point or another, but he couldn't have been sure when he'd do it. So he hadn't created a new dream just for Eames to find him in. But he needed a back-up plan, a chance to bring him on the right track. And what do you do when faced with the need to create a believable diversion?

Eames slapped his forehead hard, because it was obvious.

"You did the easiest thing that came to your mind. Felix and you _were_ a couple."

Another of those harsh, barked laughs.

"He fucked me, I think that's the term you should go with. And he fucked me hard, body and mind."

The crude words sounded strange out of Arthur's mouth and Eames was a little taken aback. At least the broadcasted emotions with the words seemed very honest for once and the forger realized they were finally getting somewhere.

Eames knew better by now than to ask a direct question, which Arthur wouldn't answer anyway. It was time for another statement, but what would be the right one to finally make Arthur spill the beans?

"There was no evidence that he might have fancied guys."

"Yes, he made very sure there were none with him being the star football player."

"But just being secretive couldn't have hurt you this much." Eames said aloud then decided on a whim "I'm pretty sure no one knew about you going for guys either."

Arthur shrugged uncomfortable. "I got caught once, when I was fifteen. School was hell after that."

Oh, so he'd gotten that wrong too. Felix obviously wasn't his first time with a guy then. The truth was right there, on the tip of his tongue, if he just could spit it out. Then, suddenly everything fell into place.

'He fucked me.' Arthur had said. Not 'We fucked'.

"He used you for his own pleasure, but never cared about you."

"We got caught too, but only in a compromising position for me. He reacted right away, beating me up with his friends. I ended up in hospital for over a week." Arthur said grimly.

"That's how you realized it was me, right? You probably never kissed."

Arthur snorted another laugh.

"No, certainly not. Kept telling me that kissing was for girls."

"So when you kissed his projection in your dream it could only know how you imagined he would kiss."

Arthur nodded "You were so preoccupied with not making any noises that you forgot about not actually having a clue how Felix would have kissed."

Now Eames really felt dumb and had to smile ruefully. If that wasn't a mistake only beginners made, he had no idea what one was actually like. The things Arthur did to him seemingly even without trying.

Still, so far so good. But what about the revenge?

"Did you tamper with the brakes on his car?"

Arthur's features hardened at the question and his posture grew all stiff and ready to jump again, but Eames knew, the question needed to get asked. Felix had died in a car accident and Eames knew how dangerous Arthur could be. He'd never actually seen him kill someone outside of the dreamscape, but the point man had served in the army after all. It wouldn't be unlikely that he was very capable of killing someone and he had proven himself to be able to wound them in reality quite easily.

Eames patiently waited for the answer, wondering if he'd get one and if it would be the truth. Suddenly all of the tension left Arthur's body again and he deflated somehow. There were emotions playing over his face, which Eames had problems naming. When Arthur finally spoke, his voice was hushed and he kept looking at the quietly rolling ocean instead of the forger.

"No. I was still at the hospital when he died. But I should have."

Arthur carefully left the rest of the sentence unfinished and Eames wondered which kind of diversion tactic this was. Arthur had said he wanted to take revenge, but revenge on whom? Felix would be too easy, because if he would have wanted to kill Felix, he probably would have said it. Arthur wasn't stupid. He knew that wouldn't drive Eames away and that Eames could kill too when properly motivated. He was good at hiding his past, but Arthur was certainly better at researching his past anyway.

"You should have been thinking about hurting him back, but you didn't." Eames said and watched Arthur's reactions closely, before he added "Because you still were in love with him."

Everything made sense after that piece of information.

Why Arthur was so secretive about everything and didn't trust anyone.

Why Arthur had chosen this dream for Eames to snoop in.

Why Arthur hadn't killed him yet.

Arthur must be very desperate to leave his self-induced solitude but couldn't make the step on his own.

"You punish yourself with this dream for being weak. You come here to kill Felix over and over, to remind you, that showing weakness will only hurt."

Eames said but Arthur didn't show any reaction to it. They sat in silence for a while, in which Arthur seemed to fight his own inner demons. It was up to him now, after revealing all this, whether he would let Eames in the last step or not.

Arthur finally spoke up and Eames had the distinct impression, that this was the final test he needed to pass, "Why are you here, Mr. Eames?"

Eames didn't take any time to think his answer through. Arthur needed brutal honesty now, so he spoke the first words that came to his mind.

"Because I wanted you so much that the prospect of having you only once even in disguise was better than never getting a chance with you at all."

"Even if I will kill you for trying to mess with my dreams?"

Eames grinned sheepishly gesturing to his still half hard dick.

"Especially then." he said and waited to see what Arthur would make out of that.

The point man lifted his hand, finally gripping the gun again and sent a bullet into his own brain.

…

The wait was killing him.

Eames internal clock was all messed up after this unexpected reaction, but he had at least twenty minutes left before waking up on his own. This was still Arthur's dream and he hadn't bought anything to finish himself off quickly when he came here, because he didn't want to arouse the suspicions of Arthur's well trained subconscious.

The beach didn't provide many possibilities either, Eames was really not fond of drowning himself. He never could go through with it.

So he sat there wondering what exactly Arthur would do in the short time he had until Eames woke up. He could simply leave and stay gone forever, because Eames answers hadn't been enough. Eames could also wake up to look into the barrel of a real gone, because he had dared to mess with Arthur in any way. Or…

…

Eames could wake up with most of his clothes already hastily pulled off and his cock engulfed in hot, wet heat. He groaned and his hands tried to grope for Arthur's head, which was expertly bobbing down between his parted legs. He couldn't though because they were securely tied behind his head with what must be his own shirt.

Eames had no idea exactly what Arthur's sinful mouth was doing to his neither regions, but it was glorious and he could hear angels singing in the back of his head when he came with a fiercely shouted "Arthur!" on his lips.

The forger's brain was on overload and couldn't function right, but he felt his come dribble down the length of his softening cock, as the wet heat finally disappeared. A quick sweep of hands followed and through the fog in his head Eames realized, that Arthur must have started to prepare him with his own come as lube. The probing fingers on his entrance were a little rough and impatient, but Eames liked every second of it, so he spread his legs even further to give better access.

His brain was still trying to process all this information and decipher it into actual speech, as Arthur suddenly chuckled, scissoring his fingers and expertly making Eames squirm and utter something embarrassing that lay between a moan and a whine:

"What is it? Have I finally found a way to make you shut up?"

"Ungh…" Eames said intelligently and moaned again.

"I want to fuck you on your hands and knees, so turn over."

"But…" Eames found it in himself to contradict, because he wanted to see Arthur's face while doing it.

Arthur did something incredibly dirty with his fingers and Eames cock, which had only gotten back to half hard after his recent orgasm, was back to full bloom already. The forger hadn't been this turned on in years and felt like a teenager again.

"I want to fuck you so hard" Arthur said and stroked Eames' prostate again, smirking "that tomorrow you will walk funny. I want to come so deep inside of you that you can taste my come. I want to claim you as mine, so that nobody ever again will cast a look in your direction without fearing my wrath."

At that Eames scrambled over so quickly in the chair that he nearly toppled it over in his haste. The strain on his bound hands hurt, but the ties were loose enough that they didn't cut off all blood circulation. The burn was delicious, as was the burning from the probing fingers. He didn't go so much for pain, but for this first time with Arthur – and suddenly he had no doubt that there would be many, many other times – it seemed accurate. They would have time for slow discovery later, to heal the wounds that had been hurting Arthur since he was nothing but a teen. But right now, he wanted the wild thing. He wanted possession and greed and pure lust.

Finally, Arthur got with the program and stripped as much as he needed to and without further ado forced his way more or less into Eames welcoming body. Eames hissed, but stayed relaxed. Arthur gave him about half a minute to get his breathing back under control, but then he buried himself balls deep.

If Eames had loved Arthur before, he was certainly in love now. He hated it when his partners were too cautious with him and it blew his mind that Arthur knew that and gave him what he wanted. Arthur was a very thorough researcher, so he probably knew things about Eames that he didn't even know about himself.

"Harder" and "Arthur" and "Fuck" were constantly mumbled under Eames' breath like a mantra, the sound of skin obscenely slapping against skin was all around them.

Hands gripped his hair fiercely and his head was pulled back a little, to bare his throat.

"No one else will ever touch you again beside me, you hear me?" Arthur hissed into Eames' ear and latched onto the skin of his throat to leave marks.

Again, speech eluded Eames, but at least he could nod a little in between the hard thrusts and the fist still gripping his hair.

"Say it!" Arthur demanded growling against the hikey he'd just made.

"I…p… promise." Eames finally muttered.

"Good." Arthur purred. "Brace yourself then."

Eames hurried to grip the edge of the chair and the ties before he lowered his head between his shoulders when he felt Arthur quickening the pace. His movements were erratic now, Arthur's hands gripping Eames' hips like a vice and probably leaving marks there too. There was no other surface for Eames leaking cock to obtain friction other than his own belly, but obviously it needed none either. As soon as he heard Arthur roaring his release and filling him, marking him with his seed, Eames came his brains out. Or probably what was left of his brain anyway.

…

Eames must have passed out afterwards, because when he came back to himself, his hands were free again and Arthur was slowly rubbing life back into them. Eames felt boneless and happy and sated and he certainly never wanted to move again, but he lifted his head, pulling his hand free from Arthur's grip. From there he gripped Arthur's head and pulled him in for the sloppiest, dirtiest kiss he could manage and Arthur looked surprised and happy and adorable.

"Let's take this show someplace more private." Eames whispered against Arthur's lips in between the kissing. "I have a flat in London that is in terrible need of getting seen after."

Arthur looked torn and hesitant, so Eames leaned in again, to whisper in his ear.

"Let Cobb handle his business himself for a while. Please, come home with me."

And for the first time, Arthur's smile really reached his eyes as he nodded.

…

_**See the mountains kiss high Heaven**_

_**And the waves clasp one another;**_

_**No sister-flower would be forgiven**_

_**If it disdained its brother;**_

_**And the sunlight clasps the earth,**_

_**And the moonbeams kiss the sea—**_

_**What are all these kissings worth**_

_**If thou kiss not me?**_

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 16****th**** November 2010**


	20. Mistletoe

**MISTLETOE**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**GENRE**: Established Relationship, Romance, Holidays, Drabble (exactly 200 words)

**A/N**: Yeah, it's a classic, I know. But it needed to be written anyway…

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thanks for your patience with me

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**RATING**: PG13 – for kissing

…

**Mistletoe**

**a Djap story**

…

Eames and Arthur were in the middle of a bickering match, when Yusuf's voice brought their attention to the mistletoe above their heads. "You know the rules." The chemist had pointed out smugly, causing everyone in the room to giggle in advance at the tragedy that surely would be unfolding itself in front of their eyes any minute now. To everybody's surprise both men reacted contrary to their usual manners; it was Eames who blushed a lovely red and Arthur, who looked smug and flirtatious as he turned back to the forger.

"Care to give them a show, sweetheart?"

He never gave Eames time to answer as he proceeded to kiss the fucking daylights out of the forger, pushing him against the door frame and stopping only when the man looked properly debauched and pretty much turned on.

"Uhm…" Eames said stupidly, eyes hooded, erection evident through his pants.

Finally his brain caught on to the situation and Eames smirked darkly as he turned the tables on Arthur, while the whole team kept staring at them in shock. Afterwards both men left the party in a hurry.

That was when the team decided to abnegate the alcohol next Christmas completely.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 10****th****October 2010 or 10.10.10 **


	21. Gay Bar

**GAY BAR**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: First Time, Humor, One-Shot

**BETA: **Neenabluegirl – thanks for your help and patience. Oh, btw, I actually wrote this story with that song in mind… I was listening again to The Bosshoss… ;)

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**RATING**: PG13

…

**Gay Bar**

**a Djap story**

…

Eames was leaning on the bar, trying to be as comfortable as possible. Currently he held on to a tasteful glass of whiskey and had the opportunity to look at some very pretty men so all in all life was good to Eames, even if the job wasn't entirely finished yet. The extraction was already over and right now the whole team was supposed to keep a low profile, until the mark woke up on its own. Eames was supposed to wait here at this very vivid gay bar together with Arthur, while Ariadne and Yusuf were watching their dreaming bodies. Cobb was outside looking for the mark to ensure that he wouldn't get suspicious.

Once again Eames was surprised how easy it was to steal from people if you only gave them what they desperately wanted. In reality their mark had a perfect life: pretty wife, two kids, great job. But it wasn't what he really wanted, what he secretly desired most. As soon as Arthur found out that their mark was actually gay, it was very easy to build the right dreamscape. It made the thrill of serious thieving seem like stealing candies from toddlers.

Still Eames had been looking forward to this job because of his obsession with Arthur. Of course he'd always been attracted to their current point man, but he'd also been turned down by the man so often that he didn't think he'd ever get a chance. Still, the man presented a riddle to Eames and one he failed to solve.

What exactly made Arthur tick? He seldom flirted with anybody, and when he did, he usually never sounded serious. It looked as if Arthur only did it to amuse himself, like that flirty something he shared with Ariadne. Both of them knew it wasn't anything serious.

As their architect, it was of course Ariadne's job to give shape to the dreamscape-bar. The whole team knew that Eames had taken her to his favorite gay bar so that she would get some ideas on how to do it more realistically. Nobody had seemed to care when he offered it with a shrug and nobody said anything to him about it afterwards. Not even Arthur frowned on it, although he often made the impression of being asexual, because he never seemed to give in to his more carnal impulses. So everybody knew perfectly well that Eames didn't care about the gender of the person he bedded, as long as that person was attractive enough.

So what about Arthur? Would Mr. Tidy ever consider getting it on with another man? Eames had no idea and it was driving him nuts.

The dwelling at the bar should bring Eames some new information on that, as he kept watching the American out of the corner of his eye, trying to be as subtle as possible. For once the point man looked relaxed, which had surprised Eames at first. But then Eames saw the hard lines on his neck and the white skin of tense muscles. Arthur tried to look relaxed so as not to stand out too much so the projections wouldn't pick up on him, but he was everything but relaxed. If possible, he was even tenser than usually.

That was odd because it couldn't have anything to do with being uncomfortable in a gay bar, right? Eames would have realized if Arthur was homophobic, wouldn't he? Okay, Arthur certainly was more secretive than the average guy, but still, Eames was very good at judging people even if his abilities were slightly clouded by his growing passion for his prey. His ability to judge people actually was the reason he was so good at forging. All these men were only projections anyway and when you did this job long enough you stopped caring what form the projections took, because it didn't change anything about their nature.

Then Eames realized something else and he started to smirk despite knowing better.

Arthur was quietly fighting off what seemed to be a whole bunch of admirers. He tried to be very efficient as not to arouse any suspicion, but it seemed as if Arthur was exactly the kind of guy their mark would pick up if he ever developed the balls to actually go for what he wanted.

Eames could certainly relate to that attraction. Still, Arthur had a dangerous beauty and one should never forget that if one wanted to get anywhere with the point man. On the other hand, Eames could also be very dangerous to be with – so they would be a couple made in hell, wouldn't they?

The forger was quietly wondering if he should hurry to his prince's rescue as he saw something else which made something inside his heart flutter with anticipation. It had happened very quickly and he would probably have missed it if he hadn't been watching Arthur so closely already.

Arthur, Mr. Responsible, had just very obviously checked out one of the guys trying to charm their way into his pants. The man was a dark blond, bulky and a little bit shorter than Arthur. He had been blatantly trying to grope Arthur and the point man, who usually could defend himself with the right move even before his opponent had decided which blow to cast in the first place, had actually hesitated long enough for the guy's hand to connect with his hip. It had even been able to slide in the direction of Arthur's neither regions before the point man shook it off less vehemently than the others before.

Eames fought down a fierce wave of jealousy while his brain tried to process what it just had witnessed: any other man wouldn't find that odd and ascribe it to Arthur's weariness or him getting sloppy, but Eames knew better. This had certainly been no coincidence, because Arthur was definitely aware that Eames was watching him closely, so this could only be a message for Eames.

Why else would Arthur suddenly 'get sloppy' with a projection that had such an erringly similarity to Eames, that one would think they were in Arthur's head instead of in their mark's?

The question was, would this be a one-time thing or could this be something else? Something more? Or was Arthur really that cruel and just playing with him, because he grew wary of the forger's constant attention?

On the outside Eames steps were steady, when he left his place at the bar in Arthur's direction, although on the inside they felt like jelly. Arthur didn't even lift an eyebrow at his sudden approach which was another sign that he'd known about Eames watching him all along. Was that really the hint of an amused smile and a twinkle in the point man's eyes?

Eames finally reached the bulky blond projection which was still advancing on Arthur due to his earlier success in touching Arthur. It wasn't aware that Eames was standing right behind it until Eames leaned toward his ear to whisper a threat, "If you don't stop hitting on what rightfully belongs to me, I might be forced to break your arm."

Surprise flickered across the projection's eyes at Eames' daring tone, clearly not expecting someone to challenge him on his prey when he was obviously that strong and sportive. The look in his eyes changed again when he caught a glimpse of Eames, whose easy smile and interesting choice of clothes didn't hide the fact of how regularly he worked out. For a moment it looked as if both parties would actually start a fight for Arthur, then the projection somehow deflated and left without another word. If he were a dog, he'd probably even have tucked in his tail.

"Our job is it not to arise any suspicions right now." Arthur chided Eames softly, but now Eames was sure that there, at the corner of the point-man's mouth, was actually a smile lurking to break free.

"I just did what our mark expected me too. He doesn't have the balls to get what he wants, so the projection would never have picked a fight with me for you. The mark's too much a masochist who likes to wallow in self-pity about his inability to get what he wants."

Arthur acknowledged that with a nod, although Eames wasn't quite sure whether Arthur thought the same or for once actually trusted the forger's expertise in his line of work.

Eames used the conversation to insert himself right in Arthur's space. He placed each of his hands right beside the point-man, even daring to push a thigh between Arthur's slightly opened legs. He didn't touch Arthur's crotch though, so instead he leaned the leg against the inside of Arthur's left thigh.

Arthur, to Eames' surprise, didn't pull away from him. Actually he didn't even show any sign of surprise or anger. Instead he stood his ground and let Eames do whatever he wanted, just lifting a beautifully arched eyebrow that meant nothing else but "What the hell do you think are you doing?"

"Hey, I'm just keeping up our cover. If I claim you and am not all over you afterwards, the projections will get suspicious." Eames reasoned, smirking. He was overestimating and both men knew it, but to his surprise Arthur didn't call him on it.

Eames was intensively searching his brain for an idea how to progress this quickly developing thing between them, when again Arthur took the first step.

"You know, we should make sure everybody knows I belong to you. That way the projections won't get suspicious." Such a blatant lie out of Arthur's sweet mouth. Who would have thought, but thankfully Eames already knew that Arthur was full of surprises.

"What do you have in mind?" Eames leered and very deliberately placed his hand right there on the hip, where that stupid projection had been allowed to touch the point man. Again, Arthur didn't comment or pull away, he slightly leaned into the touch, answering the soft pressure Eames was putting on him.

"Shall we dance, Mr. Eames?"

"Huh?" Of all the things Eames thought Arthur would say now, this certainly hadn't been on top of it.

"I think we should dance so they'll lose interest." Arthur said sounding like his old responsible self, but his eyes twinkled with something bordering on madness.

"Okay." Eames agreed having no idea where this was heading. For some reason Eames didn't understand why the music had changed from disco to ballroom style when Arthur grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor, while the forger stupidly nearly tripped twice over his not quite cooperating feet. Arthur sent him another smirk which Eames answered with a pout.

Once they were finally on the dance floor, the point man had even the cheek to ask politely, "Do you mind if I take the lead?"

"No." Eames grunted and that at least was true. He was used to forging women in dreams, so he certainly knew how to let someone else lead.

Of course, Mr. Awesome would be a great dancer too. Figured. Sometimes life just sucked.

Arthur led them waltzing over the dance-floor as if he was born to do it, not having the slightest problems mastering Eames bulkier form. Where Eames was used to be charming, Arthur was graceful and he certainly was that while leading. Eames closed his eyes at one point, so that he could better concentrate on Arthur instead of the projections around him. His one hand was scathingly hot on his ribcage while his other burnt Eames' fingers. Their legs touched every so often by quite the fancy moves Arthur seemingly effortless pulled out of his hat.

Then, of course, the music would slow down to a love song and Eames probably will get paradontosis due to this insanely romantic scene playing out. He felt ashamed to be a part of this moment, feeling his reputation slip out of his grip rapidly. Then Arthur closed in on him, dancing slow and seductive, and Eames last coherent brain cells shut finally off.

At one point, Eames shortly came back to his senses, when a hand softly gripped his chin and tried to lift his head up, which he'd laid down on Arthur's shoulder, just where it fit perfectly. He looked up a little confused and was swept away by Arthur plundering his mouth.

His brain should have contradicted, but it was already occupied with saving Eames last threads of coherence to moan into the kiss. So nobody could blame him when suddenly, a few minutes (hours?) into the kiss, as it grew even more heated, the projections closed in on them to tear them apart with nothing but their bare hands.

…

When Eames started awake he realized that Arthur obviously must have known what he was doing, by annoying the projections like that. It wasn't wise to get gay porn running in the head of a man who had denied himself real sexual pleasure for what was probably his whole life. Arthur was chuckling in amusement when he woke up, while Dom already started yelling what the hell they both had been thinking. To Eames excuse, he hadn't been thinking at all, but he refrained from saying that to his boss. It wouldn't get him anywhere anyway.

They had to leave in an unexpected hurry, but that was old news for them, so it didn't cause any real problems. Cobb kept ranting at them for over half an hour before he finally gave up and left them alone.

…

It was already late, after the celebration of a job closed and Cobb telling where they were expected to head next, when they finally where left alone to speak about the whole encounter. They were still sitting in the kitchen where Cobb had assembled them for an impromptu meeting, both nursing a drink of choice. Whiskey for Eames and a glass of red wine for Arthur.

Eames started the conversation finally although he dreaded the answer more than he anticipated it. But he had grown weary of Arthur's silence and he didn't want to let this chance go by unused.

"I take it this was only a game to you." Eames said, making it a statement instead of a question.

"You are the gambler, you tell me." Arthur answered cryptically and Eames suppressed the urge to strangle him. Mostly because he wouldn't have succeeded anyway. Not only was Arthur good at defending himself, but Eames' brain also might have changed its mind in the middle of getting there deciding on smooches instead of killing.

The ball was in Eames court now, so what should he do? For once he settled for the truth, perhaps because out of the firm belief that starting a relationship with scheming and lies was the best way to destroy it before it started.

"You tell me, Arthur. You know I can't read you."

Arthur looked smug at that and obviously pleased, but also a little unsure.

"I thought you are the best at reading people?"

Was this jesting or a real question? Again Eames couldn't be sure, so he decided on 'real'.

"It looks like I found my match."

Both lapsed into silence after that, staring intently at each other, gauging their reactions carefully. It was again Eames who took a leap of faith and decided to play with open cards:

"At least you seemed to enjoy dancing with me, darling. I know this cute little bar, where we…"

Arthur's own insecurities might have made this more difficult than it should have been, but the fact that Eames couldn't even finish his question before Arthur blurted a 'Yes, I'd like that', sure made up for the trouble.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 7****th**** December 2010**


	22. Past Tense

**PAST TENSE**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**PAIRING**: Arthur x Eames

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**LANGUAGE**: English

**GENRE**: Romance, Shortstory

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**RATING**: PG13

…

**Past tense**

**a Djap story**

…

"No." Arthur said then elaborated "No way in fucking hell."

The point man's use of profanity was so unusual for him that Dom and Mal only gaped at him in open astonishment. Mal was the first to get a grip though, like she always did.

"But Arthur, Petit. What is the problem?"

"If you want to work with this guy, I'm out."

"But you agreed with us that we're in desperate need of a forger. What's gotten into you?" Cobb threw into the conversation, but Mal only rolled her eyes at him and waved him off. Her husband usually was slow on the subtly of interpersonal relationships. That was the reason why they'd needed a forger for this job, because Mal, pregnant as she was, couldn't do it without any risks to the child.

"So you've met 'im before, Petit?" Mal asked Arthur, her voice soothing and soft which she knew was the only way she'd ever get an answer out of the young man.

Arthur's frown deepened into a scowl as he stared the other man down.

"You could say that." he answered cryptically, his mind already halfway lost in the past.

…

"Hey, could you kick back the ball?" a deep male voice asked. It was laced with a heavy British accent and although Arthur felt intrigued by that, he didn't even lift his head. It wasn't his fault that this stupid soccer ball had rolled over to him and he certainly wouldn't embarrass himself by trying to kick it back. He wasn't bad at sports per se, despite popular belief due to his skinny looks, but he sucked at everything that involved a ball.

Arthur still didn't look up from his advanced French poetry books when a shadow fell upon him.

"Hey darling, are you deaf or just ignoring me?"

"I'm not your darling. That's a word for girls." Arthur snarled without being able to help it.

"Oh, it speaks! It's a wonder."

"Go away!" Arthur tried, not really believing it would work on the obnoxious newcomer. Why did all the jocks in the world always have to pick on him? It just wasn't fair.

"What are you reading?" the other man said and tried to catch a glimpse of what Arthur was reading.

Arthur was about to answer something along the lines "I didn't know people who play soccer could read." when the other man utterly surprised him by saying: "Oh, it's Mallarmé. He's great, I love his works. Didn't know there were Americans who actually understand enough French to read him."

As much as he wanted to, Arthur couldn't contradict that. There actually weren't many, or Arthur just met the wrong people all the time. Well, actually he didn't meet any people, if he could help it, so why was he talking with this stranger again?

Something plopped down beside him and Arthur finally couldn't resist anymore. He glanced over quickly and his assuasive look was met with the ugliest color-cacophony he'd ever met. The other man was somewhere in his early twenties, had dark blond hair, grey-green attentive eyes and sported quite the sexy stubble. The rest of his outfit was anything but sexy though. He wore an undershirt in the brightest colors of the rainbow Arthur had ever seen, blue jeans that were ripped at both knees and right beside the man's crotch, where Arthur definitely wasn't looking.

He was not!

He also wore trainers and a sweatband around his wrist with the piece sign openly displayed. The numerous swirls of black ink all over his abs and chest made also clear that the young man must be older than his boyish looks made him appear.

"I'm Eames, who are you?" The blond offered and Arthur tore his gaze away quickly. Hopefully the other man hadn't seen him checking out his glistening muscles under the tattoos in the sunlight.

"If you don't answer me, I'll have to go with 'Darling' until you do and we already established that you don't like me calling you that."

"I don't like anything about you. Go away." Arthur tried again, wondering how quickly he could make the other boy leave.

"You don't even know me yet and are so quick to judge me? Either you're brilliant or stupid. Brilliant if you saw so quickly that I'm up to no good, or stupid if you talk like that with everybody regardless what trouble that could cause you."

This Eames had certainly a point with that too, but Arthur would rather go to hell then tell him that.

"What. Do. You. Want. From. Me?" Arthur asked as patiently as he could. Which wasn't much, granted, but for him he was actually trying put up a social effort.

"Just a nice chat."

"Why don't you go and chat with your soccer friends?"

"Because they are boring and because they took one look at you and left. That got me intrigued."

"You should follow their example."

"What fun would that be? I've been here at this damn university for five months and I'm bored out of my mind. You are the most interesting guy I've met so far, ergo you won't get rid of me that easily."

"I'm even more boring than this university." Arthur tried but Eames just smiled.

"You do seem to enjoy Mallarmé. That's interesting enough for me."

Again, the blond had a point. Still, Arthur didn't say anything and tried to ignore the other man. If he did that, he'd certainly lose interest soon and leave him alone.

"You're the most attractive too." Eames suddenly said out of the blue and Arthur's head whipped around so shocked at that, that he nearly dislocated something.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, but Eames just waggled his eyebrows in amusement and made a kissy-face. "What do you think it means?" Eames finally answered back.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?"

Eames chuckled and suddenly started searching his pockets. After a few seconds he produced a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He put one cig into his mouth and lit it, before answering: "Darling, if you haven't realized that yet, you're probably not as bright as I thought you were. A fag?"

Arthur was at a loss for words. A stranger had just waltzed into his life and proceeded to read him like an open book. He'd even revealed his best hidden secret seemingly without any obvious effort whatsoever. How did he do that?

"I'm not a fag!"

"Darling, I think you are, but that wasn't what I asked you. I wanted to know whether you wanted a cigarette or not." Eames' eyes were twinkling with mischief, making clear that he'd been very aware that Arthur would misunderstand his question.

"I don't smoke." Arthur grumbled. He wondered if he should deny that assumption again but realized it would be to no avail. This man wouldn't believe him anyway.

"Your loss then. Bet you don't drink either."

"Of course not. Alcohol makes people act reckless and stupid."

"And I also bet that you like your life in order."

They fell silent for a moment, in which Arthur considered his options. He wasn't really afraid of getting outed, it just was that nobody had cared enough about him until now that he would have bothered to tell. And now there was this man who knew it already and was actually flirting with him, probably already knew that Arthur had never touched anybody but himself yet. Either this was a very cruel joke, or this man wanted him despite all these things. Or because of all this.

Should he really give up this opportunity?

"How did you guess?" Arthur finally asked. He didn't elaborate more what exactly he meant, but he figured the man would understand him anyway.

Eames chuckled again, took a deep drag of his cigarette and produced some smoke rings before answering, "Are you joking? Look at you! You are wearing a violet checkered pullover for God's sake. And on top of that grey chinos with creases! If that doesn't scream 'gay' I don't know what else does."

Arthur just gave him a look at that and pointedly stared at his rainbow colored undershirt, causing Eames to chuckle.

"Sorry, darling. I'm not one for subtle."

"My name's Michael." Arthur sad, then took a deep breath and added in a rush "And I have a room we could go to. I sleep there alone, without roommate or curfew."

Eames actually looked surprised at his blatant invitation, before saying, "Alright. We could have a look at it, although I don't see why we are in such a hurry, _Michael."_ He gave extra emphasis on the name, making sure that Arthur knew he didn't believe the false name for a second.

Arthur didn't care, he still wouldn't tell his name this easily.

"This way." He said and was surprised again as Eames actually followed him.

…

It wasn't until about three weeks later, when Arthur finally did tell Eames his first name and they had met regularly for sex and food and incredibly fascinating discussions about French Poetry, that they both realized this was anything but a one-night-stand.

It took them another six unbelievable happy months before Eames would break Arthur's heart though.

…

"I don't want to see you ever again, you bastard!" Arthur yelled, rage cursing through his body. It had been so many years ago, but now the wound, which had never quite healed completely, was reopened now, oozing hate and anger.

Thankfully at least Dom and Mal had gone, so that they wouldn't see him loosing it completely.

"My parents left the States and I had to go with them if I didn't want to get disowned." Eames said, trying to calm Arthur down.

"Liar!" Arthur spat outraged. "If that were true you could have said as much. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have accepted it. At least I would have known that you didn't leave because I did something wrong or because you were tired of me or that you had just been playing with me laughing at my expense and stupidity with your friends."

"Oh, darling." Eames said and sounded genuinely sad. But could you ever be sure about the things a forger told you? Arthur knew that Mal could play him any time, however she wanted. Eames was supposed to be the best forger around.

"Fuck off!" Arthur yelled, trying to get away from the Brit.

But Eames didn't let go of his arm and tried to make their gazes lock.

"Please, darling. Hurting you was the last thing I ever wanted. I knew I needed to make a clean break-up, but I didn't realize how much I'd already hurt you by dating you. I'm so sorry."

"Save it for somebody who actually believes in anything you say!" Arthur's voice cracked at the level of pain which his body and mind were experiencing right then.

"You were so pure that I didn't want to defile you with my filthy thieving and gambling habits. I wanted to protect you from me." Eames yelled right back and Arthur knew, they were finally getting near the truth. He just hoped he would be able to live after finally hearing the answer to the question he'd been asking himself for many years.

"Bullshit!" Arthur said and his voice had a desperate hitch. "I could handle myself quite well. I would have been able to deal with it, whatever it was you did back then."

Eames flashed a sad smile at this, which never really reached his eyes.

"Obviously, or you wouldn't be working in this business. I underestimated you in so many ways, darling, it's embarrassing. I have only one excuse and you won't like the sound of that: love makes blind."

Arthur snorted. "You never loved me. If you really felt anything for me, you wouldn't have been able to leave me so easily."

"Darling, you have no idea what you are talking about."

"Liar!" Arthur said again, but this time Eames didn't accept the accusation for the truth.

"No, listen to me! I told you I had bad habits. And you were changing me, because I wanted to be good for you. I wanted to be the nice guy, you thought I was. But I found that I couldn't. The feelings were just so much it scared the shit out of me. So I did the only thing I could think of – the only thing I did constantly in my whole life: I ran."

"Nice guy, my ass!" Arthur scowled "Did you think I was blind? Or just stupid? Of course I knew not everything you were doing was legal."

Eames sighed. "Seeing you now, I realize that too. But I was the one being blind before. I never realized I could have a future with you on the wrong side of the law."

"There is no right or wrong side. Everybody is corrupt these days." Arthur said and sounded more sad than angry. Eames lifted his hand and stroked softly over Arthur's cheek. Eames was happy when Arthur didn't so much as flinch and he didn't pull away when Eames touched their foreheads in a very intimate gesture.

"Please tell me, you didn't become this disillusioned only because I preferred to run instead of watching out for you."

"I can take care of myself!" Arthur said harshly, but held the connection upright.

"We both know that you can. You are much stronger than me in so many ways, darling. But I still should have been there to protect you. Even if it wasn't necessary."

"But you weren't." Arthur repeated sounding suddenly small and tired. Eames' smell was all around him, the feel of the body heat of the always too hot Brit was soothing on Arthur's usually too cold bones. He hadn't felt that warm in years and he was pretty sure he never would again, if he made Eames leave him now.

Despite all the rage still inside him, the thought of loosing Eames a second time was too much to bear. He couldn't send the man away who was the only one he'd ever loved and the only person who'd ever touched his soul.

"You will break me one day." Arthur knew it was the truth and Eames didn't even bother to contradict.

"Probably, but not right now that I finally got you back, neither do I intend to break you in the foreseeable future."

"It's inevitable." Arthur said and despite his words, he finally closed his arms around Eames back to pull the forger hard against his chest, where he had always fit perfectly.

"True. But I finally stopped running, darling."

"Who made you?" Arthur asked, dreading the answer.

"You did, you idiot. Only you could make me stop running."

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 23****rd**** November 2010**


	23. Oral Abilities

**ORAL ABILITIES**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING**: Eames x Arthur

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

**RATING**: NC17 – for language AND smex – so best way of NC17, right? ;)

**GENRE**: Humor, Established Relationship, PWPish, One-Shot

**SERIES**: Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**LANGUAGE**: English

**BETA**: Neenabluegirl, who had more work with this than one poor beta reader should have had. I'm sorry *drop* will be reposted when it's beta-read for the second time

**A/N**: I blame it all on Tom Hardy's lips. They made me do it! :D

…

**Oral Ability**

**a Djap story**

…

Arthur was currently sitting in his office and stared at a blank page of his notebook. He had sat down an hour ago to write a list about how he had ended up in this situation. He should call his mother and tell her the (good?) news, he probably should first talk to the other team members, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything of that yet.

So, back to the list. Arthur was a list-person by heart, mind you. As point man and zodiac twin: ascendant virgin, he often depended on lists. It was the easiest way to keep track of all important information about their marks which counted double if one took in regard how much had changed in the business since Inception. It had become even harder to keep the grip on reality and latch on to sanity.

So lists were good, list kept him grounded, just like his red die did, but actually, Arthur had never written a list like this one before, so he had no idea how to start it. Flashes of the past night kept disturbing him, which was ridiculous, because it was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

Finally Arthur wrote one word down, that kept swimming in front of his eyes as he scowled down on it. It read '**Eames**' and Arthur stood to pace the room in annoyance. That thieve had certainly stolen the point man's heart, but Arthur had no idea how by the God's of Thievery this could have happened. Arthur had been so careful around the cocky forger, always ignoring his flirtations toward him and his obvious efforts to lure him into his bed.

Fine, the man was handsome. No need to deny that fact. Arthur remembered vividly the really embarrassing hardon he'd gotten when he'd seen the forger's well muscled upper body with those completely unexpected traces of black ink for the very first time. Thankfully no one had noticed his predicament back then, although Eames flirtations had even grown worse afterwards. Perhaps he'd caught the point man staring and drooling after all.

Then there was Eames accuracy with a weapon combined with a grace in thievery that could leave you like nothing but awed at his skills. On top of it Eames owned the bluest-grey-green eyes Arthur had ever seen and alone the fact that Arthur, point man extraordinaire and known to be the tidiest person ever to wander this earth, couldn't pinpoint the exact color annoyed him to no ends.

Arthur sat heavily down on his chair and finally scribbled a second word on the still mostly blank page, at least getting to the real problem. Because all those facts Arthur could have ignored. He was used to deny his body what it wanted, so why should denying himself Eames prove any problem?

'**Mouth**' the word on the page read and Arthur sighed, sinking back against his chair in defeat. Eames' mouth was the problem, the one fact about Eames Arthur couldn't ignore or resist. It was the backbone of the whole trouble-package Arthur currently found himself in, being the cause of every step Arthur's heart had taken in the direction of Eames. Eames mouth was a weapon to which Arthur knew no defense.

Suddenly it was easy to write the list and Arthur scribbled away in hurry

'**Most luscious lips ever exist on earth'**

One day, back in time, when they weren't a couple yet, Arthur watched the forger sleep. Eames wish for dreaming had grown desperate once again, although Yusuf had no time to watch over him. Arthur's stomach did a nervous summersault at Eames' timidly asked question, whether Arthur could possibly supply his services. Arthur instantly chided his body for that silly reaction afterwards.

Watching Eames' body while dreaming during a job was one thing, but that the man seemed to be willing to put enough trust in Arthur to actually let him do it in their private time, was something entirely else. They were thieves and Eames had no guarantee Arthur wouldn't pry into his dreams. To Arthur's surprise Eames never even mentioned it. It looked as if the forger took Arthur's loyalty for granted, which was a stupendously stupid thing to do.

Still, Arthur didn't pry into Eames dreams, although he was severely tempted. Watching Eames' sleep was entertaining enough for Arthur's tastes and finally broke his resolve. Hair neatly groomed, stubble highly illuminated by the artificial lamp on the bedside and in the center of Arthur's attention those skillfully painted lips of a mouth that was currently snoring and even drooling a little. Irresistibly cute, although Arthur would never admit being the owner of that particular thought.

The point man's eyes focused on the slight dimples, nestled at the corners of his mouth, born by years of teasing and still there even in his dreams. It needed stronger men than Arthur to resist an invitation like that, so that evening, when Eames made a suggestion, Arthur accepted it, relishing in the surprised look on Eames face.

Then those lips bloomed into a full, happy smile and Arthur was a goner.

'**Evil British Accent'**

At first Arthur believed he'd give in once, get it out of his system, and finally be done with it. He couldn't have known how wrong that assessment of the situation at hand was but he realized it soon after that first night. His body might accept being denied of most things, but it wasn't going to have any of that now that it had finally had the first taste of Eames.

So once became twice and after that it became a quite regular and exclusive thing. Of course Arthur was suspicious about Eames' promises in the beginning, but he wasn't point man for nothing. He couldn't resist investigating and what he found made him wonder whether Eames was just the best conman he'd ever met or if he'd just been blind before.

Eames' was very serious, and he wanted Arthur for good. Two weeks into their newfound relationship he already started talking about telling it their friends about it.

Of course Arthur refused to fulfill that wish because it would be a very dangerous thing to do, as possible foes could easily use a constant partner against them for blackmailing or even worse, revenge. Arthur trusted nobody, not even himself, so he also refused to talk to the rest of the team, even to Dom, who was the only one Arthur considered anything resembling a friend.

So Eames tricked him into getting what he wanted - again. Back then he already must have realized how much Arthur was turned on by his accent. For Arthur it wasn't the voice that got him going, as it was neither dark nor silky, but it being heavily laced with that wonderful British accent. Naturally it was even worse in bed, when that sexy voice whispered obscenities into Arthur's ear.

In everyday life Eames seldom spoke. When he wasn't asked a direct question, wasn't terribly pissed off or saw an opportunity to tease the people around him, he kept his mouth shut. That wasn't surprising as living a life as a conman certainly called for secrecy, because the more a person talked, the more he or she told other people about their weaknesses, whether they wanted to or not.

So Arthur had been positively surprised as he learned how talkative Eames was in between the sheets doing the naughty. It was worst at the brink of orgasm, when a constant flow of curses, seductive promises and heartfelt confessions could be ripped from the forger's mouth.

Whenever Eames started talking in bed with that sexy accent Arthur had many problems staying focused; there were so many nuances of what Eames could actually do and all of them were sexy in their own way. It didn't matter whether Eames spoke loud and clear or whispered, whether Eames used his voice to beg Arthur to fuck him harder, deeper, faster or if he commanded him to bend over for him: it always caused the same reaction in the point man namely that Arthur's brain shut off and his blood rushed southwards in the quickest way possible. Every sigh, every groan or moan, every grunt served to fuel Arthur's passion further.

So one day Eames seduced him once right in the office to get what he wanted. His evil plan consisted of a mix between double intended sentences and eating food so obscenely it needed to get censored. Arthur never stood a chance and both men knew that. Arthur was angry and pretty much annoyed when he pulled his lover into the next available room (which happened to be his closet and how ironic was that) to fuck him senseless for his audacity. Sadly, that wasn't what happened at all, because evil Eames had different plans.

He pushed Arthur against the inside wall of the closet, pushed a thigh between Arthur's leg for some friction and for the first time talked him into orgasm. He had pinned Arthur so efficiently there was nothing left for the point man but to moan and gasp and scream (in the good way of course) because Arthur might be a master of martial arts in the open field but in such a confined space he actually couldn't hold up against Eames well trained, muscled and so much heavier body aside from committing homicide.

The least one wasn't an option of course, although Arthur did consider it when he finally left the closet again with his lover just to encounter the whole team waiting for him in his office, huge grins plastered across their faces and congratulating him for finally getting it on with Eames. Arthur had probably never felt that embarrassed in his whole life, but he had the slight suspicion, that it still could get worse when he considered that he was actually dating Eames of all people.

'**Fixation on oral abilities'**

Eames just loved to kiss, which at first had been a surprise for Arthur, but very welcome too, because Arthur loved kissing too. Eames mouth tasted like heaven anyway, with this heady mix of cigarette smoke, musk, strawberry and chocolate and Arthur was sure he was imaging all those explosions on his taste buds, but, what the hell? Who cared if it made Arthur feel like this?

Just, there was one problem though. Eames had this special kink that Arthur had lots of trouble to understand. Whenever they wanted to go on a mission, Eames would take Arthur away two hours before it and kiss him senseless. Yeah kiss. Not fuck and definitely not bring him off. He timed it so well that at first Arthur never had a chance to do anything against it until it was too late anyway.

When he finally confronted the forger about it and didn't accept a cocky grin and a fabulous blowjob as answer anymore, he finally got the man to talk.

"There's a myth about ancient soldiers. Right before they went into a fight, they would each pick another man. They'd turn each other on, but wouldn't satisfy each other, because that way, they were so horny and desperate to get back to their lover to finally finish what they had started, that they were always victorious."

"You just made that up, didn't you?" Arthur finally asked, brow lifted up to the hairline.

Eames shook his head. "No. But there's another reason. I don't want to do it just for luck's sake. I want you to always come back to me."

Both lapsed into silence after that.

Arthur wasn't sure what exactly was happening right then, but he realized it was very important for their relationship.

"It makes me all jittery to go into a job without satisfaction. It makes my hand shiver and I don't want to accidently shoot you in a dream and especially not in real life."

Eames cocked his head, gauging this new information.

"Okay, but how do I make sure you'll come back for more?"

"Make it so good I'd never want anybody else." Arthur said stupidly, which actually was a mean thing to say because Eames was already the best lover he'd ever had and was also very proud about his abilities. Still, he got the reaction he wanted and much more. He should have known better than to challenge someone like Eames, shouldn't he?

Right the first time after that conversation Eames wicked and terribly talented tongue did so many, untellable and mysterious things to his cock, that Arthur only remembers having blacked out afterwards. Arthur had screamed himself hoarse, sweating profusely into his expensive suit, never even having lost it before the blowjob straight from heaven (or was it hell?) had crushed upon him. When he came back to himself afterwards Eames was wearing his patented smug grin again and he had just enough time to get showered and changed for the job, which means Eames must have drawn out that particular blowjob over an hour, which would explain why Arthur felt so overly sensitive in his neither regions.

After the job, when Arthur could finally pay Eames back for this mind-blowing experience after having been thinking about it the whole job, he realized something else and for the first time he was very glad about Eames oral fixation, because it had brought this on: Arthur was falling in love, heavily, and all of that thanks to the forger's most talented tongue.

Of course Eames liked to fuck too. Of course the forger liked his dick getting sucked as much as the next guy. So they did that. All of it. A lot. Doing it everywhere, whenever possible and with every possible help they could find. But it happened that the times, when Eames could drive Arthur insane with his tongue, were for both of them the most satisfying experiences. It gave them this bone melting satisfaction that left them happy and sated for a whole week and left them glowing with happiness for months. Everybody noticed, there was no possible way for their team mates not to notice.

So especially the last point on Arthur's list was to blame for his current condition. This sinful and wicked tongue usually left him as a puddle on the floor which only Eames apt fingers could bring back to life. It left him as an incoherent mess, that should feel ridiculous, but somehow didn't. It was all the fault of that deviously wicked tongue that when it wormed its way into his secret entrance for the first time, after cleaning Arthur's spilt juices, after lapping at him and drinking him, made Arthur scream 'Yes' to everything Eames asked of him.

Even as Eames asked for Arthur's hand in marriage.

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 07****th**** December 2010 **


	24. 12 Days of Christmas

**12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS**

**AN INCEPTION FANFICTION**

**PAIRING: Arthur x Eames, of course**

**AUTHOR: **Djap

**GENRE: **Romance, Holidays, Humor, First Time

**RATING: **NC17

**LANGUAGE: **English

**BETA**: Neenabluegirl – thank you for your patience and your help with my grammar. I'm very grateful that you had fun reading and especially beta-reading my stories and I'm very happy that you took the time to write all those nice comments. I hope that you had at least a little fun with the Advent Calendar, even if it was spoiled for you, because you already knew the stories (and most of the pics) when I finally got around to post them.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own the boys and I won't make any money by using them. Pity.

**SERIES: **Epiphany, Advent Calendar 2010

**A/N: **Finally. Merry Christmas to all of you and I hope you got everything you wished for. This is the last piece of my Advent Calendar and I enjoyed writing/drawing/posting this very much. Thanks for all your nice comments. I really hope you had a good time with me this very 'gay' yuletide :D

…

**12 Days of Christmas**

**a Djap story**

…

_On the first day of Christmas_

_my true love sent to me…_

…

**Tuesday 14****th**** December 2010**

"This is ridiculous." Arthur muttered to himself and stared intently at the large package innocently sitting on the floor in front of his door. His first impulse had been to claim that the hotel staff must have confused orders, because this certainly couldn't be for him, but then he saw his own name in tiny silver lines on the front of the accompanying letter, sitting on top of the package.

For about 10 minutes Arthur had no idea what to do. Nobody except the team knew that he was currently lodging in this hotel in this very room, not even his own mother. So this had to be a trap, right? RIGHT?

Then he felt stupid for not knowing what to do and lifted the package from the floor. If this was really a bomb or something like that, he deserved to be blown up with it, because his enemies knew where to find him in the first place.

He heard no tale telling ticking inside so he brought the package to his bed and set it down there. First he reached for the letter and after taking a deep breath he opened it. When nothing disastrous happened he opened his tightly shut eyes again, lifting his eyebrow in curiosity.

Obviously this was a normal letter with an absolutely normal card in it. Strange. No trace of any white powder or any electronic mechanisms that could kill him. Huh.

Arthur finally pulled the card from the envelope and instantly rolled his eyes.

In neat, golden letters it read: "On the first day of Christmas your true love gave to you the proposition to woe you and to capture your heart completely. Please enjoy."

Arthur racked his brain to remember where he'd seen the handwriting before but it was obviously altered on purpose and he had no chance of placing it despite its familiarity. That at least relaxed him a little. So, one of his teammates had sent this and not an enemy seeking revenge. This certainly was a joke, right?

He was pretty much convinced that this had to be a crude joke as he finally opened the package. Inside he found the ultimate woeing-package: flowers and chocolate. It didn't help that it was fine, dark and expensive Belgian chocolate, which was his favorite sweet and that the flowers were Hydrangeas, which he loved to an unhealthy extent. This wasn't only a joke, but also a quite cruel joke from somebody who knew him very well.

He still couldn't bring himself to throw the chocolate or the flowers away, although he really wanted to. His heart was still aching from unrequited love, which was the story of his life. He ate mournfully two pieces of the chocolate and put the flowers on his nightstand, pretending they were really from his one true love. How pathetic, he chided himself meanly.

Finally he took a deep breath and steeled himself for another day filled with hard work.

…

**Wednesday 15****th**** December 2010**

The next morning, by the time Arthur reached the building in which they were currently working, he'd all but forgotten about the strange gift from the day before. It had snowed over the night and so, for once, Arthur didn't want to go to work. He had always loved the dark and cold season of the year and he especially enjoyed snow.

When he was still a child, he could spend many hours playing in the snow, plotting with his friends against the neighbor's children, building igloos and snowmen. When he was around ten he was known to be the best sleigh racer to be found in the whole neighborhood.

On the walk to the building, he had enjoyed the sound the crushed snow made under his shoes so much that he'd nearly kept walking instead of stopping at their hideout. But then, his responsibility had kicked in and he'd turned in to work after all, because they needed to end this job as quickly as possible, because Cobb wanted to be home for Christmas with his children.

As he reached the front door of the building he stopped dead in his tracks as the whole gift-thingy came back to him in a rush. His suspicions were confirmed again, that it must be someone from his team who was sending him these strange presents.

He went inside, taking the neatly packed package inside after brushing away the snow that had accumulated on top of it. He sat it on the kitchen table of their hideout, before shaking the snow out of his scarf, his coat and his hair. He probably should start wearing a wool cap too, but that would mean he'd need to cut the use of his hair product use and that was not an option. Eames would be obnoxious about it and tease him about his rebellious bangs for weeks. *fangirl **squeal***)

After putting his stuff neatly on a hanger and changing from his heavy boots into more comfortable slippers he caught a glimpse of himself as he passed the mirror on his way back into the kitchen. His cheeks were flushed red his hair a little out of order due to the snow and his mouth was set in a happier line than usual, which was completely ridiculous.

Only because he'd been depressed former years around Christmas and just because Cobb was happy now that he was back with his children, he didn't need to smile so silly, did he? This whole game was pretty ridiculous and as soon as Arthur found out who was playing with him, he or she would learn what it meant to mess with Arthur's head. For now it was time to investigate, whether the mysterious sender of the package had made a mistake this time or not.

There had been snow on top of the package and the accompanying card as Arthur brought both items in and now, that the point man turned his attention back to those, he found the paper and the envelope crumble up under the melting snow. He looked for a dish towel and wiped the surface of his presents tenderly.

He finally lifted the envelope up and pulled the card from it, wondering what it would say.

"On the second day of Christmas, your true love gave to you something to listen to. I hope it will make the wait worthwhile."

Listen to? What was that supposed to mean? Arthur sighed because he knew that his curiosity would kill him one day. He ripped the present open and was surprised to find a new CD in the box. Then he swallowed. This didn't look good. He had been talking to Yusuf about this, because the chemist had asked him which music he preferred. No one else had been around that day, so was Yusuf playing this cruel joke on him? He couldn't believe that, it just wouldn't be in Yusuf's nature to do that. Besides, did Yusuf know him well enough to know about his favorite kind of chocolate and flowers?

This whole charade needed even more investigation on Arthur's side. His attention was caught alright, now it needed to see whether Arthur could catch the gambler.

…

**Thursday 16****th**** December 2010**

Damn. It had happened again. When Arthur woke that morning due to a strange noise he had rushed outside to confront the person who was sending all those alleged gifts. But the only person he found was the Polish cleaning woman who was working on his corridor's carpet. The look she threw him told him exactly how insane she thought he was.

Well, he was wearing only his white shorts with the big red dots and nothing else. But it had been worse before, when she actually came into his room to him coming fresh out of the shower wearing nothing but his birthday suit, because he'd forgotten to put up the 'Do not disturb' sign. His strange working hours often clashed with those of housekeeping. He was used to that.

He looked down at his feet and swore again, because, damn, there was another package from his secret admire. He kicked it, hard, so that it crashed against the wall. The Polish woman threw him another disgusted look, then turned her back on him and got back to cleaning.

Arthur took a deep breath and suppressed the sudden desire to strangle the woman, before he went obediently over to the package and lifted it up to bring it back into his room.

Once there he had to suppress another urge, this time to set fire to the whole thing, he then practically ripped the envelope open to retrieve the card.

"On the third day of Christmas your true love – ha bloody ha – gave to you something to help you through lonely nights."

When he ripped the gift open in annoyance he was suddenly glad that the content wasn't as easy to break as the CD would have been. It was a book about French poetry from Voltaire, one of his favorite authors. Arthur caressed the spine of the book as he read the title, swallowing around the lump in his throat. Having lived through the nightmare of Mal, the Shade in Dom's head, Arthur was glad for once to be reminded of his old friend Mal, whom he had lost.

This book, together with French poetry he'd always enjoyed, had been lost to him for so long that he felt ages old now. This was a reminder of a happier past with his friends, living in Paris and still working on the right side of the law. When Mal killed herself Arthur had locked those memories away, before concentrating on Dom, who had needed his help badly.

No one of the current team should know about him loving Voltaire and French poetry except for Dom. But his friend wouldn't be so cruel and trick him like that just to get a laugh out of it. This wasn't like Dom at all. But it also wasn't like Dom to have the hots for him. Back, when they were younger, before Dom met Mal and with that the love of his life, both boys had been inseparable. It was inevitable for Arthur to develop a crush on his best friend, but he'd soon grown out of that. Now they were friends, good friends, and Arthur loved him like a brother. Had Dom really developed feelings for him after all this time? Arthur had always been sure that Dom was solely a woman's man, but how should he interpret these gifts then?

Arthur's head felt like splitting in two thanks to all this thinking and when he checked the clock he realized he had another hour before he needed to get ready for work. So he sighed and played his new CD on his notebook. Soon, Spanish guitar music filled the room. Then he leaned back on the headrest, burrowing under the blanket and groped for the book. He hadn't lost himself in Voltaire for far too long anyway, so to start today was as perfect a moment as any.

…

**Friday 17****th**** December 2010**

Arthur had been annoyed when he found no present on his doorstep the next morning. He was sure to find it on the way to the hideout then, but was again disappointed. Had his secret admirer tired of this whole thing so soon? Perhaps he should have been keeping up with the sprinkled questions about his secret admirer yesterday, but after being too late for work because he'd actually lost himself to Voltaire for over four hours, he had worked hard to make good on lost time. Ergo he hadn't had the time to actually investigate anything.

The whole day at work he was grumpy and jumpy, waiting for anything unusual to happen. Of course nothing happened. At all. It was probably safe to say that this was the most boring working day Arthur had ever experienced. The worst – and sadly the most exciting - moment was when his notebook suddenly started to do very funny things. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and tried to save most of his data, but he didn't succeed. Damn. Sometimes life wasn't fair. Yeah he was good at hacking his way into a lot of secret facilities. And yes, of course was that a strain on his notebook, because he had to override a lot of safety issues in it. But hell, did he really need to demolish a notebook once a week?

Actually that last sentence was an exact quote from Dom, who usually paid for his working equipment, which made Arthur wonder if Cobb was really the one who had sent him all those presents. Because really, it wasn't his fault. There was no reason why Arthur should pay for the next notebook from his own money. Damn.

Arthur had pouted for the rest of the day trying to save anything about his old notebook but no, of course he wouldn't be that lucky. So he was in an extremely bad mood when he reached his hotel room in the evening and suppressed the urge to kick the present waiting for him on his bed.

Now it had to show up? After what was his worst day since Inception. Thank you very much but no, he wasn't interested. He ignored the package completely, undressed and took a long and very hot shower jacking off under the spray, not because he was aroused, but because he was angry and moody and it usually relaxed him.

He actually felt a little better afterwards so he didn't bother to put on any clothes when he returned to the bedroom, still drying his hair with one towel. Perhaps that Polish woman would be around and he would be able to tease her a little… When the hell had he gotten so mean anyway? What was wrong with him? Obviously this whole secret-admirer-thing was getting to him. The one he really wanted wasn't interested in him anyway and he wondered if he should turn the real admirer down if this whole thing was meant in perfect honesty. Would he be able to love someone else like he did love the person he'd really fallen for? Was he able to finally give up and get on with his life?

Arthur sighed, letting the towel fall next to the bed as he turned to the present.

"On the fourth day of Christmas your true love gave to you something that wouldn't make you late for work, because everybody knows how much you hate being late. You also will look very dashing in it."

Arthur actually snickered aloud at that. Okay, that certainly was true. He tended to bitch a lot when he was late for work, and it would be ill-adviced to make him late to anything on purpose. So perhaps this was why the present was so late that day? Because the admirer had to improvise with this one?

He was eager to rip the present open and he stared in awe as he pulled the awesome grey and burgundy three-piece out of the large box. He loved suits, everybody knew that and this one certainly was a very special piece of work. He'd been playing around with the thought of buying this suit for over two weeks now. He never went the same way twice to their hideout, but he always made sure to pass the store window where this suit had been on offer.

Okay, this was getting stranger and stranger every day. So it wasn't Dom who was sending the presents. He never cared for what Arthur wore. He didn't even care much what he wore himself, so why bother with Arthur's clothing style? No, this was speaking another language and one that brought Arthur back to reality rather harshly. This was definitely Ariadne's style, and how the hell could he have missed that there was a woman in their team? The cards didn't say anything about the gender of his secret admirer and just because he preferred males to females that didn't have to mean his admirer was a man. Arthur suddenly realized that his teammates probably even didn't know about his preference.

Okay, he just had a serious panic attack. How the hell was he supposed to deal with an amorous woman? Yeah, okay, he flirted occasionally with Ariadne, but just because she was cute when she blushed. He didn't mean anything serious with it. But did Ariadne know that? She was still so young in so many things that mattered. He kept forgetting that after how marvelous she'd done with Inception.

Arthur tenderly stroked over the fabric of the suit. Well, female love interest or not, he certainly was going to wear this suit the next morning. It would be a shame not to and he would have to have a serious chat with Ariadne one of these days anyway.

…

**Saturday 18****th**** December 2010**

Arthur didn't hear anything from his admirer until he arrived at work. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror when he strode into the office and had to admit that his admirer was right. He did look very dashing in his new suit, which plastered another silly grin on his face. Thankfully, like usual, he was the first one, so he was surprised when the next present sat waiting on the desk for him.

"On the fifth day of Christmas your true love gave to you something you need, because it really wasn't your fault and because you are the best at what you do and deserved a treat."

Arthur was glad he had evolved from kicking his presents because he wouldn't have been able to live that one down. Killing two notebooks in one week would have been a new record even for him. Still, he couldn't quite suppress the surprised gasp and the silly grin that bloomed on his face at discovering the new Mac notebook.

He booted the notebook and happily typed away on the keyboard, making a list of his presents and his thoughts on the admirer because he certainly had to rethink all of the presents again. The suit might have been Ariadne's style, but she hated to spend money on useless things. And since Arthur regularly crashed his notebooks this would be quite useless in her eyes. It wasn't Cobb's style either, because he had made perfectly clear what he thought about Arthur's carelessness in the notebook department. Neither was the card a way of Cobb apologizing, because he always did that in person. No, all these facts pointed to someone else entirely, one who never bat an eyelid at spending money.

But really, wouldn't it be more Saito's style to buy Apple instead of just one notebook? At least he was finally sure that this wasn't just a cruel joke. Nobody would spend so much money on a joke, right? Not even Saito.

…

**Sunday 19****th**** December 2010**

For once, Arthur didn't need to go to work. Cobb was gone to spend today with the kids and everybody else was allowed to take a day off. The point man didn't know what to do though. He'd already checked his doorstep twice but so far he hadn't gotten his present yet. If he stayed any longer at the hotel he'd probably go insane, so he dressed quickly and marched out into the snow.

They were currently working in New York and Arthur had always loved the city. When he was a child his father had worked here for two years. At first Arthur had hated it, because once again he had been forced to leave everything behind because they had to move again, but the city had soon captured his heart. Perhaps his whole life was the fault of his parents.

Since his childhood he hadn't been able to settle down long with anything. Even Eames, Mr. I-don't-care-where-I-live-as-long-as-the-place-has-the-opportunity-for-serious-gambling has an apartment to which he retreats when things get too much to bear. Sometimes Arthur envied other people for this ability. He blamed his parents for refusing him a home when he so desperately needed one. Still, Arthur had always wondered whether this would finally change when he found the right person to start a life with.

Arthur felt lonelier today than usually, perhaps due to the very thoughtful presents of a secret admirer whose devotion he very surely didn't deserve, so he knew it would be pure torture to visit one of the Christmas Markets. He still went to his favorite one and he was right with that assessment. Arthur had to watch so many happy couples, wrapped around each other to keep warm.

But still, Arthur didn't feel so lonely here anymore, even when he was alone, so he let himself bathe a little in the anonymous mass of happy people around him, drift here and there, listen to Christmas music and enjoy some eggnog. It was already dark when he returned to his hotel, walking because it had started to snow again.

When he reached his room he smiled bitter sweetly at finding the present he'd been waiting for all day. It sat neatly waiting for him on his bed but he didn't rush over to it and instead called room service for a hot chocolate and took another shower to warm up first. He was dressed in shorts and a tee when his hot chocolate arrived, before he finally turned his attention to the present.

"On the sixth day of Christmas your true love gave to you something enjoyable when you feel all alone."

Okay, that was very cryptic even for his secret admirer. Arthur had no idea what to expect when he opened the gift. He laughed out loud when he opened the box finding black satin sheets in it. They smelled fresh as if they had been in the laundry already, which was odd, because they didn't look as if they had been used yet. Did his admirer really know that he was allergic to some chemicals which were used for dyeing? It sure looked like it.

Arthur was beyond wondering about that though because it was obvious by now that none of his teammates could have known all this about him without a very proper research.

He did wonder about who would be the most likely to send this gift. He decided on Eames, because really, he was the most hedonistic of the whole team. Come on, black satin sheets? It practically screamed 'Eames'. He was practically the master of sin here and he was known to bed any person he found interesting enough. At one point he had made the surprising discovery that the king of debauchery actually could be monogamous and faithful if he was with the right person, which Arthur found most intriguing.

He hadn't believed it at first when Cobb told him about Eames past love life with a woman, with whom he'd lived together until her dying day. Arthur had felt the need to research that before he could believe it and he was surprised to see it was the truth. What kind of woman must it have been if she had been able to bind a man like Eames until she finally died of Cancer? That sure wasn't an easy way out of life and it couldn't have been pretty or easy for a man like Eames. But he had stayed with her to the end, changing the view Arthur had about Eames forever.

Arthur lost no time to change the sheets and quickly considered his other options. Who else could have sent such a gift? Saito? Certainly not. With him it could only be golden silk. Ariadne? No, she preferred things to be art, which extended to every aspect of her life. She would never have bought or sent him sheets in a plain color. Dom? Never silk. Dom hated silk with passion, because it made him feel even colder than he usually was. Dom always complained about it being too cold anyway and with him it certainly would have been cozy cotton. Yusuf? That one made Arthur snicker, because really, he'll never understand the man's passion for manga. The last time he'd seen Yusuf in his sleeping attire it had consisted of pajamas with a brightly colored Pikachu on it. Arthur didn't dare to think what his sheets would look like. It might damage Arthur's brain severely.

So back to Eames then. He wondered what kind of lover Eames was. In real life he was flirtatious and charming and he also knew no taboo in matters of love. Arthur knew that Eames dated people from both genders and he seemed to enjoy being both predator and prey in matters of seduction. He certainly was to be considered a good lover, as he was a person mostly working on intuition anyway. He also was a quick learner and knew how to read people.

Would he be passionate or would he be considerate if he ever got the inkling to seduce Arthur? The point man quickly shed the rest of his clothes sliding beneath the cool sheets. They felt like the pure sin on his already excited skin and Arthur blindly groped for his new notebook to play his new CD. Then he grabbed the last piece of chocolate, savoring the taste while he let his thoughts wander back to Eames.

How would the forger touch him? Would he feel cherished or would he be mocked now that he'd gotten the prude and bourgeois finally into his bed? Would he blow Arthur's mind by sucking his cock or would he challenge him and make Arthur suck him off? What position would he prefer if he was allowed to fuck Arthur and if yes, would he give it to him hard and fast or slow and languidly?

Arthur had problems to concentrate on the possibilities his mind was providing as he had started to stroke himself expertly. While his right hand stroked his by now hard cock in an old and familiar rhythm, his left first tweaked a nipple then gently fondled his balls with the exact right pressure he preferred. For once, Arthur also allowed himself to make as much noise as he wanted too. He'd served long enough in the army to know how to jerk off expertly without making too much noise. Making some noise was quite enjoyable though and this present was an invitation to enjoy himself, right?

So he did just that. Arthur finally came to the image of Eames coming too, head thrown back and moaning in ecstasy. The point man came in four quick hard spurts all over his chest and the new sheets and that realization made him smile. Usually his neat and practical self would immediately clean up that mess, but for once he didn't. Instead he just smeared it a little over his chest, entertaining the thought that he'd been thoroughly fucked and worn out for once and definitely too lazy to clean up. It had been way too long since the last time that had happened.

Besides, the Polish cleaner already hated him anyway. Let her deal with the mess tomorrow. That thought made him grin stupidly before he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

…

**Monday 20****th**** December 2010**

Of course he did clean up his own mess the next day before he went to work. The woman was only doing her job and it wasn't her fault that Arthur was a mess since all this started. Besides he was in such a good mood, that it was hard for him to be angry at anyone. Actually he felt so bad for thinking mean thoughts about her, that he very politely greeted her as he passed her on his way to work and even tipped her for doing such a good job with his room.

She was so stunned by that she didn't answer anything, just stared at him with big round eyes. Arthur shrugged it off and waved her good bye, feeling her stare on his back until he was out of her sight.

His good mood didn't last long though. The streets were iced and right at the start of a new week of work he was late again. Even Eames was there before him and he was never on time. Eames was always fashionable late, except if there was serious work to do, so it pissed Arthur even more of as he of all people had the cheek to ask why he was so late. Okay, the embarrassing thought that he'd been jerking off to this obnoxious man last night only added to his bad mood, but what the hell, this day was shit anyway.

Arthur slammed the door shut behind him when he finally reached his makeshift office and wondered where his good mood had gone. This whole thing was seriously wearing him out. He desperately wished for this whole charade to be over, so that he could deal with the aftershocks of whomever's heart he had to break, because he was desperately in love with someone he couldn't have.

Arthur took a deep calming breath and reminded himself that according to the song he had to get through another six days of this torture until the identity of his secret admirer would finally be revealed. That was exactly the moment when he spotted the box, wrapped in now very familiar paper, sitting innocently on his desk. Arthur didn't know if he had the strength for another present so soon, but he knew his curiosity would win in the end.

So he gave in, like usually first reading the card: "On the seventh day of Christmas your true love gave to you something useful for your work, to keep track of your most interesting insights and ideas."

For once Arthur had an idea what that was supposed to mean. His hands shivered with anticipation when he carefully peeled the paper of the box. And yes, he had been right. Again he received a book but with mostly blank pages in it. It was a scrapbook, bound in brown leather, showing a very enticing tribal motive on the outside. He had wanted to buy this particular scrapbook for several months now, but he hadn't wanted to indulge in such luxury as he was entirely talentless in creating art and would use it only for notes anyway. On the inside, ever tenth page portrayed a copy of a piece of art from his favorite artist and Arthur spent about half an hour sitting on his desk savoring every piece of art instead of working.

Still, although this was a very awesome present it also left a bad taste in his mouth. This gift all but screamed 'woman' again and with that also 'Ariadne'. Damn, so he was back to the whole 'could-I-get-it-up-for-a-woman-again' question.

…

**Tuesday 21****st**** December 2010**

Arthur had been cranky the whole Monday and he was still in a bad mood when he closed the door to his room. When he turned he looked directly into the smile of the cleaner and was startled a little.

"Why are you so angry when such a nice man is giving you so many presents?"

Arthur blinked in confusion. Could he really have been so stupid? Here he had spent hours on the question of who was sending him those presents instead of asking the person who had been there all along when the presents were delivered. Best in his job. My ass. Certainly not. Gods of Thievery, he could be so stupid sometimes.

"A man?" he finally stuttered dumbly and the woman's smile faltered for a moment.

"You didn't know?" she asked confused, her Polish accent making it hard to understand her.

"I hoped so, but I wasn't sure." Arthur admitted and wondered why he was suddenly so honest with the woman.

"There is so much love in his eyes when he brings the presents, that I didn't think a smart man like you wouldn't see the honest sentiment right away."

"You think I'm smart?" Arthur asked surprised.

The woman shrugged it off. "Not many people can stay at this hotel for so long. They are either rich or famous, but you go to work every day, don't you? So you must be smart."

Arthur acknowledged that with a nod.

"What does the man look like?"

"You really have no idea, do you?" She looked at him astonished.

This time Arthur shrugged. "I know it's someone from work, but I'm not sure who. Can you help me?"

"I'm sorry, I promised not to tell."

"Even if I tip you again?" Arthur asked hopefully, although he already had the suspicion this wouldn't get him anywhere. As expected the woman's features only hardened.

"Sorry, Mister, but I can't help you. He told me this is about the song of the twelve…"

Arthur interrupter her impatiently "Yeah I know about the twelve days of Christmas. So he will reveal himself at the end of it, right?"

She nodded, obviously relieved that he knew the tradition.

"So there is nothing you can do for me?"

She grinned, looking through the pockets of her apron until she found it with a 'Ha. Got you.' "Other than that, no." she said, then added "This is my last day here before the holidays. I wish you a merry Christmas. I'll be off now with my children for a few days." She gave Arthur the now familiar looking envelope, which felt a little thicker than usual. Suddenly it made sense: Why the gift had always been waiting for him, even if he wasn't around and another guest could have stolen it. Why he had found some of them in his room. He knew all their abilities so he had assumed the secret admirer had just put his education to good use and broken in. This solution was way easier and made Arthur chuckle. Dom was right accusing him, his thinking was way too complicated sometimes.

He took the envelope then he searched his pants for his wallet. The woman frowned, looking hurt, but Arthur shushed her. "It would make me very happy if you take this." Her eyes grew wide at the zeros on the bills, but Arthur didn't gave her the chance to speak up "Look," he continued "I know that the paychecks of hotel staff is always too low, and you were doing very good work. Take it and buy something nice for your children and please have a merry Christmas with them too, okay?"

Arthur was surprised and didn't know where to put himself as he was suddenly pulled into a fierce hug by the unfamiliar woman.

"I wish you luck with your man." She said taking the bills and putting them into one of her pockets. "His feelings are honest and I hope that you'll be happy with each other." That said she flashed him one last smile, then she was gone.

Arthur still smiled when he opened the envelope: "On the eighth day of Christmas your true love gave to you a ticket to remind you who you are."

Arthur laughed out loud when he pulled the ticket out. It was for a musical and none other than the Rocky Horror Picture Show. For once he stopped wondering who sent him the gifts. For once he stopped wondering how that person could know about all these things of his past and present. For once he just remembered the day, when he was still a teenager and a friend of his showed him the forbidden joys of that musical. That night he'd had his very first time with one of the actors. The production was cheap and not many people watched it at all, but he'd been enthralled with the whole thing from the first second to the last. For the first time he had felt free enough to let his desire for another man wash over him, taking him away with it, changing him forever. It had been quick and downright dirty and thankfully at least safe, but it had made an impression, Arthur had never forgotten. He was free to love whomever he wanted regardless what other people said.

Arthur took another fond look at the ticket, before he laughed again. In the same neat handwriting that was found on the cards was written a note directly on the ticket. "Hands off the actors" it read "Or I'll be pouting forever."

When he could stop laughing, Arthur wiped the corners of his eyes and whispered "I promise." To no one in particular but still swore to make good on that promise.

…

**Wednesday 22****nd**** December 2010**

Tuesday had worked out so good that Wednesday would have to be great too. Sadly Life just didn't work like that, especially if you were named Arthur, or so it seemed. The musical had been awesome but it hadn't felt so good to be alone afterwards. So he was stupid enough to try and cheer himself up by visiting the Christmas Markets again and loosing himself in the mass of people. That had worked well enough at first, but then he'd spotted a shop selling red mulled wine. Arthur loved mulled wine, especially when he visited Germany, so he hadn't thought anything bad as it had tasted a little strange. Wine from different countries tasted different, right?

He obviously didn't know much about wine, but he still enjoyed the occasionally glass of it. His mood was still exceedingly good despite the bummer of still being alone, so he hadn't thought too much about the wine and just drank it. A lot of it obviously (he couldn't remember properly anymore) or at least enough that it could make his head explode now. This stuff must have been adulterated quite a lot because it usually didn't leave his head as if it might fall off any minute.

He somehow made it to the hideout, although his head thrummed meanly every time he heard a sound that was too loud. He was using the description too loud for anything that happened above the decibel level of whispering very quietly. He had taken already three aspirin but of course that didn't help anything.

So, for the record, he was late three times that week, and Dom gave him a good talking to for that. They'd been worried sick about him, especially so close for the end of this job and yadda yadda yadda… Arthur really couldn't be bothered to listen to Dom's rant so he just switched his ears off and tried to stay at least upright until his friend was done.

Of course that wasn't everything he had to endure though. Everybody seemed to find it extremely funny that their male role model had the hangover from hell and kept teasing him about it the whole day. So it didn't surprise Arthur, when he finally found his way home into his hotel room, that his present would also refer to his latest mishap.

"On the tenth day of Christmas your true love gave to you something better than the cheap stuff you've been drinking. Inexperience is no excuse, but being stupid enough not to ask for help in choosing your booth certainly is."

Arthur grimaced annoyed and wasn't surprised to find a bottle of red wine in the box. Right, he didn't know much about wine, but he knew how to navigate Google, so it was fairly easy to find out how expensive this wine had been exactly. When he knew, his eyes crossed over at the realization that there were actually people out there who would pay so much money for just a bottle of wine. So knowing the price tag of his latest present his mind was wandering to Saito again. Could the Japanese man really be interested in him? Was he his secret admirer? Arthur would have liked to give this some more thought, but he had no idea how to do that with sudden implosion still being an option for his head. So he undressed as quickly as he could, brushed his teeth, took a sleeping pill and knocked himself dead to another night of dreamless sleep.

…

**Thursday 23****rd**** December 2010**

Arthur was bone tired. Finally they wrapped up their latest job and were ready for going home – or at least flying to Cobb's as he had invited the team over for Christmas Eve. But for now his day was finally over. The mark hadn't even known what hit him, thanks to their proper preparation. Since Inception they had worked together like a well oiled machine and Arthur wondered how long it would take for that effect to wear off finally.

Still he deserved some rest now and yawning all the time he made his way over to his hotel room. It would be the last night he spent in that room and he wondered where he'd sleep until their next job. He hadn't decided yet and figured that it would depend on whose heart he had to break. He'd go as far away from his secret admirer as he could, so that they hopefully could at least save their professionalism. They were cream de la cream right now in their business and it would be stupid to risk that just because they had personal problems.

He rubbed his eyes in surprise as he opened the door though. Waiting for him was the biggest amount of food he'd ever seen assembled for the arrival of just one person. This was a very expensive hotel and of course their food offer was exceedingly good. But this was way beyond anything he'd ever ask for, especially as he was known to only pick at his food.

He was about to call for the room service and ask how the hell they could have mixed up such an order without it being noticed, as he spotted the envelop sitting in between the plum pudding and the Lemon Parfait on Champagne. Arthur sighed as he reached for it wondering how his secret admirer would justify such a huge order that would go to waste mostly.

"On the tenth day of Christmas your true love gave to you a feast to celebrate a job well done, because you don't need to starve yourself to death as penalty for still being alone. Your love is waiting for you and perhaps you can finally settle down."

Arthur felt like crying after he read that, because it was strange to read this on a letter addressed to him. Was he that easy to read? Obviously. Was he oozing loneliness without even realizing it? Certainly. As expected he didn't feel like eating at all, but still made himself taste at least his most favorite dishes until he was so full he felt like bursting.

Then he went to bed, not bothering to pack yet like he'd usually do. There was time enough for that tomorrow. Instead he soon fell into a restless and dreamless sleep.

…

The flight had been boring and Arthur had mostly amused himself by playing solitaire on his still new and dutifully functioning notebook. Since Saito was part of their team flying had become easy and very much boring as there wasn't even the other guests anymore to annoy you. Instead he flew sitting in front of Eames, who kept throwing little paper bullets at him to annoy him and behind his best friend who couldn't stop rambling about the party he'd throw for them on that very evening. Everybody would sleep that night at Cobb's which would be nice though. Arthur was the godfather of Phillippa and he always enjoyed the company of the smart little girl. Her brother was too young and too childish yet to be a real joy to Arthur, but he was very cute too, so Arthur was sure he would manage.

The party was everything Arthur expected it to be. It was also fun and had surprisingly good food and also much laughter which he hadn't expected, although he was happy to see that not only the kids but also Dom was getting better and better every day now that he was finally back.

Arthur picked also up on something else that surprised him and brought him at least some relief: Ariadne and Dom seemed to get along more than good and at the end of the day he was almost certain they'd soon become a couple. Arthur was even happier to see that Dom's kids also seemed to like Ariadne very much, so she starting to date their father wouldn't hurt them too much.

That also meant Dom wasn't his secret admirer and Arthur wouldn't need to break his best friend's heart. Arthur was on the way to his guest room of the Cobb residence when he pondered which one would be the more likely candidate now: Yusuf or Saito. He liked both man dearly, but he couldn't imagine a relationship with either one, which was really sad. Thinking back on all the presents he'd gotten so far the cleaner must be right. One of them must be really in love with him and it was really sad that Arthur still seemed unable to finally settle down. Such a waste.

He nearly sat down on his latest present and he didn't really feel any impulse to open it. Still, it would be very unfair to not open it, so he did it reluctantly.

"On the eleventh day of Christmas your true love gave to you something to defend yourself properly against evil in this world."

How odd. Shouldn't his secret admirer say something like: I'll always be there to protect you from any harm? But he had been very unorthodox all along, so why should he change that now?

Arthur opened the box and smiled fondly. A 1911 Colt. Gods of Thievery, he really loved that weapon. It had been the first one he ever owned and he wanted to get buried with one. Of course there were much more efficient weapons out there, but one never forgot the first weapon you handled. He stroked it tenderly for a while seeing that the serial number was properly honed out and the rest oiled properly.

Of course the gift of a handgun made Arthur think instantly of Eames, but he discarded the thought right away. This could just be the expected response to Eames' clever line 'Dream a little bigger, darling.' and didn't have to mean anything. For a brief moment Arthur considered jerking off, to wind down for sleep, but then decided against it, because he didn't feel so good doing that right in Dom's house.

…

**Friday 24****th**** December 2010**

"Oh my god, you?" Arthur said astonished staring at the man he'd just caught sneaking around the Christmas tree to place his present – which was to Arthur a very familiar looking envelope. Arthur had found no sleep, so on a sudden, silly and childish impulse he had decided to do something he hadn't done in years. He had felt the need to set up his own collection of milk and cookies for Santa Clause.

Well, what could he say in his defense? Old habits die hard?

He had certainly not expected to catch his secret admirer red-handed and had no idea how to react on it. So he just stared at Eames… EAMES OF ALL PEOPLE AND WHAT THE HELL DID THAT MEAN? … and waited for the other man to say something. Anything.

Eames looked caught and insecure and he had blushed a little around his ears which was a very becoming sight on him. It accentuated his stubble and therefore made him look even sexier.

Eames lifted his hand and scratched his head behind his right ear.

"Uhm…" he said intelligently, then "…you weren't supposed to find it out like thi…" he couldn't finish his sentence as he was suddenly interrupted by a very angry looking Arthur,

"So it's really you? This is no sick disguise? You are the one who had been sending those gifts to me?"

"Look, I know someone like you would never want someone like me, but I had at least to try…" Eames tried but was cut short again.

"Are you or are you not my secret admirer?" Arthur said deadly calm, making Eames swallow a little scared. Eames eyes flickered nervously to Arthurs hands as the point man very deliberately placed the glass of milk and the plate with the cookies on the nearby drawer. He swallowed again, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and mumbled "Yes, I… umph."

Eames was again interrupted, but this time in a much more pleasant fashion, by lips closing over his mouth. Arthur was all over the forger within seconds, manhandling him against the next wall to properly devour Eames mouth as if it were pure ambrosia. Arthur's hands were all over Eames, feeling him up, caressing, pushing, pulling. His fingers were shivering heavily though, which didn't go unnoticed by Eames.

He finally got a grip on Arthur's head and managed to stop the assault on his mouth long enough to murmur against Arthur's lips: "Sh, calm down darling. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. Let's take this somewhere more privet."

Arthur nodded, but was already licking at Eames lips again to beg for entry. Eames obliged, sighing softly and slowly started to pull the other man in the direction of the guest rooms. Arthur followed Eames lead, his still shivering hands busy with opening the buttons on Eames' shirt.

They tripped twice and just managed not to crash into the Christmas tree but finally they managed to navigate into Arthur's room. Once inside Arthur started his earlier assault on Eames' mouth once again, pushing the forger against the inside of the door, harshly freeing him of his shirt. As the forger wasn't wearing anything else under his shirt this maneuver left Arthur with a lot of skin at his hands, which was marked all over with black ink and now free for Arthur to touch and caress.

To say that Arthur's hands seemed to be everywhere at once felt to Eames like the understatement of the year and he still couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Arthur had never shown any real interest in him whatsoever so why now? Was this reality? It was a reflex to check his totem and he didn't realize he was doing it, until he felt Arthur's chuckle against his mouth. With one last bite on Eames' lower lip and a quick lick to lessen the sting Arthur pulled back from his mouth and stared at Eames' hand.

"You were the one sending me gifts for 12 whole days now so why do you need to check your totem? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Eames heard the real question behind that statement and asked one of his own instead of answering and rising to the jest "Why aren't you checking your totem? You certainly should be if this is so unbelievable."

"Because, if this isn't reality, it will kill me. If this is a dream, I don't want to know." Arthur said all humor gone, suddenly looking lost and sad and very vulnerable. Eames sighed again wistfully and tenderly caressed Arthur's cheek. He had known it wouldn't be that easy, but it was still something entirely else than he had expected.

He grabbed Arthur's hand and placed it over the little bump in Arthur's trouser pockets, where Eames knew the man kept his totem.

"Check it. If you can't do it for yourself, then please do it for me. This is reality and I will do everything I can to make you realize that. I want you Arthur. I have wanted you for a long while now, and I also want you to know this is reality.

"But…" Arthur tried to contradict, pulling his hand from his totem as if burned.

"No." Eames chided softly "Nor arguing about this. Come." He pulled Arthur over to the four poster bed and pushed him in a sitting position. "Take out your totem and let's have a look at it."

Arthur suddenly sported a huge grin, although the mirth only was short-lived and didn't quite reach the point man's eyes yet.

"What is it?" Eames asked and Arthur's grin even seemed to broaden if possible.

"That sounded corny."

Eames thought the bits and pieces of their conversation over and had to chuckle.

"If I promise to play very nicely with your _other_ totem, will you check your less naughty one?"

Arthur sobered up instantly, grin gone quickly. His nervousness grew worse when he finally shoved his hand inside his pocket and retrieved the die. He took one last longing look at Eames then closed his eyes and sighed as he weighed the familiar item in his hands. Nothing seemed wrong so far, but he'd been wrong about that before. He threw the dice, letting it fall to the floor of the guest room so that it could roll freely. He didn't dare to open his eyes though, because he feared what he'd see.

Then he felt something touch his hair, softly stroking through bangs that had loosened earlier in their attempt to reach this room. The loose strands of hair were pushed behind his ear tenderly and Arthur shuddered with want.

"Open your eyes darling. I promise it will be worth the look." A voice laced with a very familiar accent whispered into his ear. Arthur had been hearing this voice in his imagination so often, there was no way this could be real. It certainly felt like a dream.

Arthur kept his eyes closed shut, as he heard a soft exhalation. The Eames of his imagination did that surprisingly often since he'd entered this dream, which was slightly odd. He certainly hadn't done that before. Then he heard some rustling and his knees were softly pushed apart as someone kneeled between them. The sound of his zipper being pulled down was loud to his sensitive ears now that sight was taken away from him by his own will.

The air was cold on Arthur's half hard cock, which was undecided yet if it should get with the program now that Arthur was really convinced this was all a dream. The hurt of waking up sticky and alone would probably break him this time, when it felt so real. Warm fingers gently groped for his erection and pulled it out of the confinement of his shorts.

Arthur sighed, his eyes still squeezed shut as he lifted one hand and placed it on Eames' head. He'd dreamt of this before, although it felt off somehow now. Then he finally got what it was and his eyes flew open in astonishment. All these times he'd dreamed about this or fantasized, there had always been a right hand touching his cock. That was a necessity Arthur hadn't given much thought to, as he was a natural right handed guy.

Eames was not though. He was left handed and this was certainly a left hand touching the point man in the most intimate of ways, coaxing squirming out of him patiently, making Arthur's erection grow quick and steady to full bloom. Arthur groaned, his eyes feasting on Eames familiar features. Eames was looking at Arthur's cock, mouth opened slightly ready to lean in as soon as Arthur would be fully hardened. His breath was coming in short huffs and he was watching Arthur's reactions closely to every new movement he tried out with his apt fingers.

Arthur's second hand also fisted in Eames hair, suddenly impatient to get this show running and pulling the forgers head into the direction of his cock. Eames obliged with a happy sounding sigh, first giving the head a tentative lick, before sucking it in his mouth, rolling his tongue gently around it.

Arthur sighed too, suppressing the sudden urge to surge upwards into that welcoming heat. He wanted this as fast and hard as possible, but Eames seemed to be in no rush and if this was really reality, then Eames deserved at least that much, didn't he? Arthur's eyes threatened to close again on their own accord this time due to sheer bliss, but his pupils flickered around in search for a red dot on the grey carpet.

When he finally found it, he couldn't believe what he saw. This time his hips did buck upwards, forcing Eames to swallow at least half of his cock. An apology was already falling from his lips when he felt more than heard Eames' chuckle, his mouth still closed around his cockhead and obviously – thankfully – in no distress about Arthur's lack of self-control . Those obscene and very addicting lips made a soft, hot slurping sound when they released him and something like a whine arose in Arthur's throat, causing Eames to chuckle again.

Eames replaced his lips momentarily with his hands "Easy there, Arthur. I'm fine. Don't worry, darling. I love this desperate look on you, it's very becoming."

Arthur wanted to strangle the man for being his obnoxious self, but to hell with that. The wonders those clever fingers were doing to him were worth the embarrassment.

"Shut up and fuck me." Arthur said instead, content at having managed to surprise Eames with those words, because that sentiment was written all over the forger's face. The oh so talented forger had figured him for a top, huh? Interesting. That train of thought made Arthur smirk, because really, he could do that if it was expected of him. But mostly he preferred the role of pushy bottom, even if it had been quite a while for him.

"If that's what you want from me?" Eames asked tentatively, sounding uncharacteristically unsure of himself for once.

"Actually I want you to blow me now, so I'll be relaxed enough to enjoy the following ride properly and so you can make me come again. You up for that?"

"Uhm." Eames said swallowing hard and blushing a little, although not in embarrassment but excitement. "Sure. Any other preferences I should know about?"

"We should probably save our kinks to make the rest of our lives as worthwhile as possible." He had intended it as a joke, but it came all out earnestly and Arthur realized that he really meant every word. If for Eames this was supposed to be only one night, it would probably be even worse than this being a dream. Arthur couldn't get a taste of nirvana and then be expected to leave without looking back. It was either everything or nothing if Arthur wanted to survive this.

Arthur held his breath while Eames seemed to mull that over in his head and he released it in a rush when a smile full bloomed on the forger's sinful lips.

"I like the sound of that, Arthur."

Arthur returned the smile, before he leaned in to steal a soft and chaste kiss.

"What are you waiting for then?" he finally quipped pushing his hips into Eames' loose fist that still kept hold of his cock.

And Eames did everything to Arthur that had been requested and even more. Arthur was sure some connections in his brain took serious damage as Eames sucked him of in the most expert way ever. Arthur was glad to learn that to Eames this was something he seemed to enjoy thoroughly even without the prospect of getting rewarded for it afterwards. He obviously loved giving head and relished in the fact that he was allowed to bring Arthur off like this. Thankfully he also took the liberty to start preparing him while frying his brain through the perfect mix of pressure, movement and suction.

It really had been a while for Arthur but thanks to the early preparation and this first release his tension level was low enough so that he could just lie back and enjoy whatever Eames was doing to him. This time Eames hands and fingers where everywhere, his mouth kissing and licking paths on his skin which Arthur's body would probably remember forever.

Arthur had no idea where Eames got the lube and the condom, but he was very grateful that Eames had enough brain cells left to care about those things. Arthur certainly hadn't and his patience was wearing really thin after all this waiting and teasing.

"Now, please." He begged finally and Eames for once stopped teasing. Instead he lifted Arthur's legs on his shoulders, and Arthur focused on his face looming above him, poised at his entrance to enter before his eyes fluttered shut in sudden pain. He wasn't ready yet, but he couldn't wait any longer, didn't want to feel this empty anymore.

Eames gave him some time to adjust and just as Arthur was ready to scream at him to stop caring, he moved again, this time burying himself with one slow, steady push. It still hurt, but the worst was over and Arthur's body relaxed in reflex. It remembered the movement, knew it would soon bring pleasure. Arthur's hands gripped Eames' shoulders hard and he'd certainly leave marks, but the content purr emanating from Eames above him reassured Arthur that the forger didn't mind. The point man wouldn't be able to change it anyway, he just hoped he wouldn't leave bloody scratches, because they were a bitch to heal and it would be a shame to disgrace those enticing ink dots that kept blurring in front of his eyes.

Eames still kept himself completely still at first, eyes screwed shut in fierce concentration, his breath controlled and heavy. Sweat was dripping from his face to Arthur's chest and his hands were slippery with lube as he gripped Arthur's hips. When he finally did start moving, it tore a deep heartfelt groan from Arthur, causing him to purr again in appreciation.

"Yes." Arthur hissed in agreement, his voice stressing the last syllable. "More!" he demanded and felt greedy. Eames complied though, obviously not bothered in the least by his selfish commands. They took off for the ride of their life and finally every rational thought were gone as both kept rutting against each other like animals. Arthur remembers his own orgasm as something that exploded inside his head, leaving him happy and sated and overwhelmed. He had no idea how Eames experienced his own orgasm though, because the point man lost conscious right away.

…

When Arthur came back to himself morning light was already flooding the room through the curtains. Arthur felt warm and a heavy weight on his chest stopped him from moving too quickly.

"Good morning, darling." Eames whispered into Arthur's ear, accent even thicker this morning than usual. The forger was spooned up against Arthur's lithe frame and his arm thrown heavily over Arthur, their legs entangled.

"Good morning, Mr. Eames." Arthur answered, surprised at how raw his voice sounded. He really hoped he hadn't kept the whole house awake by screaming his appreciation for what Eames had been doing to him.

"Sleep well?" the forger inquired.

"Like a baby."

"So, you won't freak out on me this morning?" Eames sounded too serious for this to be a joke.

"Should I?" Arthur asked back, not daring to turn around yet and look the forger in the eyes.

"I certainly hope that you won't, but…"

"I won't. I want you." Arthur confirmed, softly petting the arm laying across his chest.

"You really do, don't you?"

"No need to sound so surprised."

"You never showed any reaction to me flirting with you." Eames pointed out sounding miffed.

"You never showed any sign that you were actually serious." Arthur shot back.

"What a fine pair we are." Eames said, his arm tightening his hold on Arthur.

"You owe me at least one more present." Arthur said suddenly.

"Yes." Eames confirmed but didn't say anything else.

"What is it?"

"You already got it."

"Huh? But…"

Arthur felt cold and insecure when Eames suddenly pulled away, so he turned around following the forger's movement with the eyes. Eames leaned over and grabbed something from the nightstand. Arthur recognized it as the last letter, which Eames must have retrieved from the Christmas tree sometime last night when Arthur had been down for the count. He also must have cleaned both of them up, because Arthur well way less sticky than he was supposed to feel. How exceptionally considerate of the forger.

Arthur took the envelope and opened it with a pounding heart.

"On the twelfth day of Christmas your true love gives to you his love. Now it's up to you to decide whether you want it or not." The card read and Arthur's heart skipped a beat at that.

"I want it. I want you." Arthur said without hesitation, for once very happy and courageous in the matters of heart.

"Good." Eames agreed. "Because I want you too, darling. I love you."

"I love you too and also I wish you a merry Christmas."

…

**Endless End**

**Finished 1****st**** December 2010 **


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